Heaven and Hell
by PIBB
Summary: This is a city where crime and pain rule with an iron fist. The weak are used as stepping stones and the good are forgotten. This city needs a hero and his name is Mega Man. Rated M for violence, death and swearing.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, it's good to be back after all this time. I need to give a fair warning for this story first. It has nothing to do with my other stories and definitely doesn't have the same tone. Please enjoy.

* * *

"Hell on Earth." It's a term that gets tossed around a lot. It's often used as a joke between friends to show their dislike of a place. Other times whiny teenagers use it to describe their household. Very few times is the term used accordingly. My name is Alex Spencer and I live in the city of Holiday Heights…don't say anything. It is a true Hell on Earth.

It used to be a small town around eighty years ago, you know small towns right? Those ones with the bullshit slogan "A heaven on Earth." The irony is killing me but I digress. Holiday heights had a bit of trouble. Hardly anyone came to visit all year round and that perked the interest of some less than reputable characters.

Holiday Heights was almost out in the middle of nowhere and because of that became the spot for many illegal dealings. Drug dealing, armed robbery, murder, prostitution all became the norm in this now shithole of a town. You'd think the police would have gotten involved long before then right? That's where the beauty of bribery comes in folks and just in case you thought of outside authority when that idea's gone to hell too. Police from the outside really don't give a damn about us.

Over the years this small town that never got in anyone's way became a large booming city where everyone's a criminal or has ties to one. It became the place described as a true hell and a city of sin. Before I go off on a rant let me tell you what this story is really about. This is about how hell gave birth to what the few good people here can only describe as an Archangel. A righteous being sent to protect and fight for the weak. If only they were right, the "Angel" they refer to is nothing more than a guy that decided to do what should have been done long ago. This is the story of Mega Man.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

**Alex's P.O.V.**

"P-please open your notebooks so you can rec-cord tonight's homework." Said a voice

I picked my head up from my desk and yawned. I'd fallen asleep again, I looked to check the clock and it was 3:15. Still ten minutes left.

"F-for tonight I'd like you to d-do…" My teacher said spacing out midsentence

"Here we go again." I thought

He was shaking wildly and blood began to drip from his nose. His name was Don Raygo, he was my geometry teacher and a well known cocaine addict. He was constantly doing a line between class periods and sometimes during class. The principal can't fire him because he's the only person willing teach geometry in this school. That's what you get living in the slums.

"Hold on." He says reaching for a box of tissues

Before he can reach them he sneezes sending streams of blood onto his shirt.

"Damn!" Someone in the room yells

He runs out of the classroom to clean his shirt while my classmates laugh…assholes. Almost immediately everybody pulls out their phones, music players, and games. I shrug and reach to pull a book out of my binder. These nosebleed incidents happen often so you need to be prepared. I'm about to read when a strong odor invades my nose and makes me cough.

The student next to me had lit up a cigarette.

"Do ya mind? Some people are trying to breathe."

He looks toward me and blows smoke into my face making me gag.

"Shut up." He says turning away

I snatched the cigarette from his mouth out of being mad and toss it in the garbage. That was probably a bad idea. He gets up to grab me by my shirt collar and throws me back. At first I land in my desk chair but I tilted back and my head hit the ground.

"Asshole." He says

I was angry and humiliated and the laughter of the other people in the room didn't help. Without thinking I scrambled up but he kicked my stomach and made my face hit the ground this time. The bell rings and everyone leave not lifting a finger to help me up.

"What happened this time?" Someone asks

Still lying on the floor I turn my head and see a friend of mine, Andrew. He was a tall and stocky guy at least three inches taller than me. His hair was brown and severely unkempt.

"I don't want to talk about it." I answered

I picked myself up and walked out with Andrew. We exited the school's doors and the city of Holiday Heights came into full view. The street we were walking on was riddled with brick buildings varying in size on each side. They were covered with neon lights boasting the name of the establishment. Most of them, however, just had two words "NUDE XXX."

"The originality is just staggering isn't it?" I asked rolling my eyes

It was then I remembered the rancid smell of the area. Factories a few miles away creating constant smog and pollution gave the place a dank depressing look.

"You're not gonna go on your usual rant are you?" Andrew asked "I know this place sucks but you bitching isn't improving anything."

We left downtown and entered the main city. It was a little better than the slums but still had the awful smell.

"Where are we going again?" I ask

"The Mall."

"Wait, are we going there to see Molly?"

"How'd you guess?" He said with a cheeky grin

"If that was this was all about why'd you drag me along?"

"Come on man, there's no harm in you talking to her."

"She's your girlfriend, that's your job."

I tried to turn and walk away but Andrew grabbed my shoulder and said "You need to meet people and get some friends."

"I have plenty of friends, one of which is you."

He then wrapped his thick arm around my neck jokingly.

"Your hand doesn't count, dude."

I elbowed him in his stomach and he let go laughing.

"Bye, jackass."

"I'm sorry alright." He said still laughing slightly "Will you come with me?"

"No. Goodbye."

"It'll be worth your while, I swear."

"Okay fine, if you'll leave me alone."

Molly was a thin blonde haired girl a year younger than me but was only two inches shorter than Andrew. Despite my reluctance to come here I have nothing against Molly I just get a little jealous when I see those two together. They're always so happy together and here I am all alone. She worked in the electronics department as a cashier. When she saw us she ran from her post and the costumer she was tending to greet us. Surprisingly she ran past Andrew and hugged me.

"What was that for?" I asked

Before answering me she handed me a box wrapped in purple paper. I raised an eyebrow at her and she said "Don't you know what today is?"

"Um, Friday?"

"No…well, yes but it's also your birthday!" She said smiling

I was shocked, I had completely forgotten about my own birthday.

"Now do you see why I wanted you to come down here?"

"Open it, hurry!" Molly said excitedly

I looked down at the box and fully realized how girly it was the purple paper was glittering and was tied with a pink ribbon. I pulled the ribbon with one pull and slipped the paper away. All that was left was the brown cardboard and I couldn't wait to see. I pulled off the lid and there were a pair of headphones. The type where the earpieces cover your entire ear and are typically worn by DJs.

I had a pair like this months ago but someone stole them from my gym bag at school. I pulled them out of the box and slipped them on. They felt exactly like my old ones, they were even the same model.

"Wow, thanks."

"It took us forever to find the right ones. I'm glad you like them." Molly said

Molly had to go back to work so Andrew and I left.

"Thanks for dragging me down here." I said

Andrew was about to answer when his phone rang.

"Hello? I'm with Alex, why? Yeah, I'll be there."

"What was that about?"

"My old man needs help back home. I have to go. See ya tomorrow."

"See ya." I said as we parted ways

It was about time I went home so I made my way back to the slums. I was only a few blocks from my house when I heard voices coming from an alleyway.

"We don't want to hurt you, just give us anything." A male voice said

"The classic mugger line." I thought

Next the victim is going to comply and hand over their belonging while pleading not to be hurt.

"If you know what's good for you you'll get out of here." A female voice answered

That's new, the victim is talking back. I peered down the alley and saw three men that were probably in there early twenties surrounding a girl. One of the men pulled out a pistol and pointed it toward her.

"I really don't want to do this." The first man

The girl grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it. She grabbed gun and pistol-whipped him to the ground. The second man drew a pipe from his pocket and held it up to strike.

"Look out!" I shouted

I ran full speed toward the second man without thinking. I grabbed his arm with both arms but it was pointless. He effortlessly pulled away and smacked me across the head with the pipe knocking me against the wall. I was delirious and couldn't tell what was happening. All I saw were blurry shapes moving around frantically until I heard the sound of steps running from the alley.

"Are you okay?" She asked

"Uh, I don't…"

I felt her hand rub against my head searching for injuries.

"You're bleeding and you have a nasty bump. I'll get something for you."

I heard rustling of a package and felt a cold bag put on my head.

"Thank you." I mumbled

"Can you walk," she asked "We need to get you to a doctor."

"Thank you."

I stumbled up and noticed my eyes were coming back into focus. I looked towards the girl. She was around my age and only an inch taller…why is everyone I meet taller than me? She had brown hair with a very slight blond tint and had a red sweater and jeans on. She was cute too. I'm just glad she thought I was dizzy or else she would have found out I was staring.

"You sure do bounce back." She said

I smiled and laughed but then fell right back on my ass.

"I shouldn't have spoken so soon."

She helped me to my feet and said "Get on my back I'll carry you."

I was going to protest but then my head began to throb and my sight blurred up. I didn't care anymore so I let her carry me.

"My house is right nearby and my dad can help."

My head hurt so much; I couldn't tell what was going on. I heard the faint rustling of maybe a doorknob and then voices. I couldn't understand anything they were saying. I was set down on table and a pillow was put under my head.

"You're going to be okay. Just relax." She said

I felt someone grab my arm and hold me down.

"What's going on?" I strained to say

"Everything's going to be fine. I'm just going to give you something to help you sleep." A male voice said

I felt a needle to poke against my forearm.

"Hey, you can't do that!" I protested

Multiple hands clamped down on me to keep me still. The needle entered my arm and in almost no time at all I fell asleep.

**Please Review**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Where am I? Why does my head hurt? Why can't I open my eyes?

"He needs help." A female voice says

"He's fine but we need to get him out of here." An old man says

"Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yes, yes, just wait until night and leave him in front of the hospital. Someone is bound to find him sooner or later."

"Doctor, he's waking up."

"I'll give him another shot, you find Garret and load him into the van"

My eyes open but the lights on the ceiling are too bright and force me to close my eyes again. I attempt to get up but the hands restrain me again.

"What are you doing to me?" I yell

No one answers; a needle just enters my arm.

"Not this time!" I yell flailing my arms

I throw my arms desperately trying to get rid of my captors. I hit one them on their face, this skin is cool, dry and wrinkled. I shove the other person away and try to pull myself off the table. My legs are weak and I stumble but I regain my balance and bolt.

"Gotta get out of here!"

My eyes adjust to the light and I saw a stairway. I ran faster than I knew I could but I'm put to a complete stop when a large man blocks my path. He was enormous, easily six foot four with dark skin and a cold stare. He was looking down at me.

"Get back on the table, now." He said

He reached for me with his large hand, I panicked and threw my hands forward at an attempt to shove him. Much to my surprise he actually staggered back. I took this to my advantage and ran passed him. The staircase was old and wooden. It creaked with every step I took. I almost got to the door at the top but I was grabbed by my neck and held up off the ground.

"Let me go, asshole!"

My eyelids were getting heavy as the sedative was kicking in.

"We're not going to hurt you." He said

I was scared but the adrenaline was doing nothing against to the sedative. I lifted up my hand so he could see it and gave him the single finger salute.

"Fuck…you." I said then I fell asleep

**(Later)**

Okay, now I'm really mad. I've been knocked out twice today and it will not happen again.

"Where are you, you bastards?" I shouted sitting up

Well, I could tell my situation was already looking up. I was in a hospital room now.

"Is anyone here?" I asked

No one answered me so I pressed the button that calls the nurse. She was there in a few seconds.

"I see you're finally awake." She said

"I need to call my parents. Can I have a phone?"

"There's no need. We found your ID in your wallet and contacted your family, young man."

As if on cue my dad busted through the door almost running into the nurse. He was a tall and lanky man with black hair. He was still in his work uniform. My dad's a cop…well sort of. He's a rent-a-cop.

"Alex, you okay?" He asked

Before I could answer he was feeling my head for injures and feeling my forehead.

"Dad, I feel fine."

Right then it hit me, I was feeling fine. Better than fine I felt great. My head wasn't even sore from where the pipe hit.

"I don't feel anything so you must be fine."

I tried to talk but the nurse spoke first. "Mr. Shepard, if you would follow me we'll sign Alex out."

I was signed out in a few minutes and we made our way to the car. It a beat up, sickly green…um, okay so I don't know what the model is but its pretty standard. It's small and it has a front and back seat. I'm not good with cars.

"The doctor said they found you lying outside the hospital. Do you remember how you got there?"

I decided not to tell him yet. He looked tired and he doesn't need anything else to worry about right now.

"Nothing really, I'll try to remember."

I got in the passenger seat and put my seatbelt on. My dad did the same but turned and asked "How was school?"

"It was okay, it was just one of those days that came and went."

"I doubt it'll make a difference after what you've been through but happy birthday."

"Thanks."

He put his hand on my shoulder

"I can't believe you're already sixteen. It's seems like just yesterday you were a little boy hiding in the bushes to get out of taking a bath."

I rolled my eyes while smiling. The car ride was silent except for the sound of cars passing by. The whole ride I felt odd, I felt like somebody was watching me but not that normal watching feeling. It felt more like someone was right behind me.

"You okay?" Dad asked

"Huh? Yeah, what do you mean?"

"You're awful twitchy."

I noticed it now. My legs were shaking, I was grinding my teeth and I was snapping my fingers. I'd never had any nervous ticks before, where did this come from?

"I guess I'm just anxious to get home."

Home was just around the corner. It was somewhat small, and painted a blue that was fading. The front door was white and in the center the paint was chipping. I went in and instantly heard a quick tapping on the hard wood floors. A small black Labrador came into view and started smelling me.

"Hey, Jack." I said scratching the dog behind his ears.

I looked around for mom but she wasn't there.

"She was going to sleep when I left." Dad said

"Smart, I think I'll do the same." I said leaving

"Don't you want anything to eat?"

"Not really."

I didn't turn to answer him, I just kept walking. I made a stop to the bathroom to shower off. I stood in front of the mirror now, my black hair hanging in my face. I was 5 foot 7 and a little on the skinny side. Not bone skinny but I could use some muscle. My face looks okay. I'm not ugly; in fact, quite a few girls have said I look cute. I guess I don't see it; all I see is an average guy.

"Whatever floats their boat." I say

I lay in bed without combing my hair, I never do. I still couldn't shake that feeling that I was being stared at. I turned to lie on my stomach and put my pillow over my head.

"It's all in your head."

Much to my relief sleep came soon after.

(Elsewhere)

I'm having trouble sleeping tonight. My joints are stiff, I'm angry and I can't believe what I have done. It's only been mere hours since that boy was here and I did _that _to him.

"How low have I sunk?" I say rubbing the temples of my head

I'm a pathetic old man who's lost so much. I've endangered the life of some random child for my own gain. God forgive me.

"Let him be alright."

I force myself to keep working. The room I'm in is dark, the only light coming from the glow of the computer screen in front of me. I've worked so long on this and it has a chance of coming to fruition. That child was a godsend, he was sent so that I could continue.

"Doctor?" A feminine voice calls

I don't look toward the voice but continue to work.

"Why don't you ever turn on a light down here?"

I heard the light switch click and my eyes winced. The room was cluttered with dust, old machinery; ranging from halfway complete to scrap, monitors of varying sizes with cords sprouting out like weeds in a poorly kept backyard. All the monitors lead to a large containment cylinder in the middle of the room. That was my work, my greatest achievement and now that the boy arrived it will be complete.

"I really think we should reconsider this."

"I will hear no more of this." I say still not turning to her

"What we're doing is wrong!"

"I think we should let him decide that."

"That's bullshit and you know it!"

I stand and turn to her now. I understand what she means and I don't feel any better about it.

"It's our only chance to stop him. Everything else I've done has failed me. Roll, you need to understand." I say clenching my fists

The room's silent now. We both know I'm right but at the same time what I'm doing is sick and dangerous.

"Roll, I want you to follow him around tomorrow, see how he's reacting to it."

"He'll recognize me."

"That why I gave him rohypnol; it causes memory loss. There's nothing to worry about."

I dug into my desk and pull out a tracker device I made. It was originally a touch screen phone. I placed a machine in the child when he was here. This tracker can find the machine within a ten mile radius. I hold out my arm to offer it to her.

"Help me and if the results aren't right we'll leave him alone, I promise."

I see the doubt in her eyes as she takes it from me.

"Fine, I'll watch him." She says leaving

**Please review**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

It's finally the weekend and I have nothing to do. Dad's at work, Mom hasn't woken up yet and Jack is sleeping next to me on the couch; his head resting against my leg.

"I'm going for a walk."

I grabbed my dark blue jacket, new headphones and cellphone and headed out the door. It was really chilly out; probably in the mid forties. I didn't mind though; I liked the cold. I couldn't enjoy it though; I still felt like someone was watching me but this time I felt more people.

"I'm just being paranoid." I thought

* * *

"Why the hell am I doing this?" I thought

I don't want to be here, I don't want to follow this kid around all day! Why can't I just leave him alone? This isn't fair; all he did was help me and what does he get; a machine in the back of his head, a stalker and an unstable steroid in his blood.

The Doctor had spent years developing the steroid. IT was supposed to improve the human body in almost every way. Muscle was strengthened to that of concrete and injuries were to heal ten times faster but there were setbacks; everything he tried it on experienced horrible side effects.

They ranged from grotesque muscle expansion in random areas of the body all the way to death. It's come a long way since those days but it's still unpredictable. It was a cruel twist of fate that he came along.

When I brought him to the doctor he initially was trying to treat him but then he noticed something in his blood. The doctor almost fainted when he saw that he was a perfect match. He tested it some by injecting a small dose near the gash on his head and like magic, it healed instantly.

"Doctor Light has big plans for you if this works and I hope it doesn't."

If the steroid is being rejected by the body there are some warning signs. The inevitable muscle expansion will fight with the body trying to stop it and it will cause painful muscle spasms and even seizures or when the body is rushing to fix a cut some of the components won't move as fast and cause injuries to heal in misshapen ways.

"I just hope we can spare you that unpleasantness."

* * *

I couldn't explain it but for some reason I felt really good. Better than good; I felt amazing! I wanted to do something fun today.

"Let's see, I could go see a movie or go to the mall. What's playing today? Screw it, I'll flip a coin."

Heads, I go to the movies and tails I go to the mall. I toss it and catch without much effort and slap it onto the back of my other hand. I lift my hand and it was tails.

"Mall it is."

I ran the entire way there and my legs weren't even tired. I felt like I could run a marathon! I arrived at the back of the mall were supply trucks drop off their cargo. I saw Molly there carrying boxes out of the trucks. I was going to keep on my way but she looked like she was struggling.

"Hey!" I called out walking over

She quickly waved to me and went back to work. As I got closer I noticed she was walking funny.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," She said "my ankle just hurts."

"What happened?"

"I twisted it when I was chasing a shoplifter."

The limp looked really bad. I looked in the truck and she wasn't even halfway done.

"Sit down, I'll help."

"No, its okay, I have it."

"You're in pain, Molly. I'll do it."

I took the box and she sat down in the back of the truck. The box wasn't heavy at all. In fact, if I wasn't afraid of breaking what was inside I would hold it one handed above my head.

"This isn't going to be so bad." I thought

None of the boxes were heavy and the work was going by really fast. It was silent for the most part.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked

"Um, okay."

"I always thought you didn't like me."

"What gave you that idea?"

"Your eyes glaze over whenever I speak, you bitch and moan when Andrew wants you to hangout with us and…"

"Okay, I get it! That's not it at all." I said setting the last box down

"Then what is it?"

I was blushing. I really didn't want to talk about this.

"C-can we talk about this later."

She gave me a look that said "This isn't over." I tried not to look her in the eye in fear I might turn to stone.

"I'll just get going."

"Hold on!"

I froze in place admittedly a little scared.

"Let me at least thank you for the help. My lunch break is in twenty minutes let's get something."

"Oh, okay."

"Great, meet me in the food court later." And with that she left

Well, might as well look around for a little while.

* * *

I had given Roll an earpiece so we could keep in contact. By the reports she's been giving it sounds like his body is adapting quite well.

"Roll, status report." I said into my mic.

"I just gave you one three minutes ago." She said through my computer speakers "All he's doing is moving boxes around…oh, he's going in now."

"Follow him!"

"Yes, sir."

"I just need to monitor him for a few more days then I can test it out." I said admittedly giddy

My phone began to ring. I normally let it go to voicemail but I imagine it's going to be a while until Roll reports back. I pressed a button to put it on speakerphone.

"Who's there?"

"…"

"Is anyone there?"

"…Hello, Light."

I freeze in place and my heart beats fast. It can't be, that voice.

"How long has it been, thirty years?"

"T-thirty five."

"Ah, that's right. Let's cut the chit chat for a moment, I see you've sent Roll out on her own."

"What are you…?"

"Don't worry Light, I'm not going to hurt her…but I'm afraid I will hurt the person she's after."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your firewall leaves much to be desired, I've seen your files on the steroid and I know what you plan to do with the boy. I hope you understand why I can't let this happen."

"If you hurt either of them…!"

"It's too late for threats; I've already sent someone to take care of the situation."

He hung up before I could respond. I sat there for a few seconds in disbelief of what just happened.

"Garret!" I called

Garret was my bodyguard and long time friend. He was a tall African American man with a stocky build of pure muscle.

"What is it, doctor?"

"Get the van and you gun we need to hurry!"

"What's wrong?"

"Roll is in trouble, I'll explain it later!"

* * *

I picked a bad day to go to the mall; there was a stage in the middle of the food court and people were doing karaoke. I forgot the mall did this sometimes; if I knew it was I would have stayed home. I just hate listening to people sing in public, whether they're good or bad it's just annoying. This one girl on stage was especially getting on my nerves for singing "Hey Soul Sister" by Train. I hate that goddamn song with a passion. The band's lead singer sounds like his vocal cords were replaced with a squeaky toy.

"Don't quit your day job." I said under my breath

* * *

I was hiding behind a stage keeping my eye on Alex. It would a lot easier to pay attention if this cow on stage would shut up.

"Excuse me, miss?"

A guy was tapping my shoulder. I yelped and turned around.

"Are you going on next?" He asked

"Um…uh, I"

The girl ended and exited to the sound of pity applause.

"Don't be shy; no one cares what you sound like anyway."

I was tongue-tied as he led me on stage. No one was looking at me, that is except for the kid. He was looking straight at me.

"Oh shit, I can't let him see me." I thought

* * *

When a new girl walked on stage my hand went to the back of my head and started rubbing.

"Hopefully she'll be better."

A few seconds went by and she just stood there looked scared. I don't blame her, getting up on stage is hard. I guess the good thing about this is no one cares. I seem to be the only one looking at the stage.

Come to think of it, do I know her?

"She does look kinda familiar."

Then she does something that gets everyone attention, she runs off and not normally down the steps, she flat out jump off the stage, onto some dude's table and bolts. Admittedly I was laughing my ass off.

She ran right in my direction and I guess she wasn't paying attention. She clipped me on my shoulder and we were both sent tumbling over. I was on the floor, still laughing a bit and right next to her.

I got up first and offered my hand.

"You okay?"

She was just staring.

"That looked like it hurt, let me help you."

Nothing changed.

"Can you even hear…?"

I heard a loud shattering noise come from above me. I looked up to see that the sunroof in the ceiling was in pieces and they were falling right towards me and the girl. I pulled her up and pulled her out of the way by her arm.

I heard screams behind me. I looked back and saw the others weren't as lucky. Some were unconscious from the impact of the large shards and they were bleeding all over.

"Are you okay?" I asked the girl

She wasn't paying me any mind; she was scared stiff and looking upward. I looked up as well and saw a vague human shape on the roof.

"HEY!" I called "Call 911, there's people hurt down here!"

The person did the exact opposite of what I wanted them to do. I saw the person jump through the new hole in the ceiling.

"What the hell are you doing?"

This guy wasn't human; he just fell at least thirty feet and he just landed like it was only two. He stood up and I could see him as clear as day. He looked like he was made of metal. His torso was grey to his elbow and knees but the change to bright red. His head is also bright red and has two black eyes with a single green dot in the middle of each of them. He lifted up his hand and snapped his fingers making compartments open all over his body. Small Blades flew out of their hiding places and were floating in midair and started to spin.

"W. Series 5, Codename: Cutman."

"This guy a fucking robot!" a random bystander said

Everyone was clearing out and Cutman didn't pay them any attention. He was dead in my direction. Is this guy after the girl or me?

"Run!" I shouted turning to the girl. "Go get help, get the police and an ambulance!"

"What about you?"

"I'll…"

Crap, I don't know what I going to do.

"I'll think of something, just go!"

"I can't do that."

"I don't care. You need to leave before you get hurt."

Reluctantly she ran off and except for the unconscious people he and I were the only ones there. I looked dead at him, I felt like I was going to be sick. How am I going to do anything?

He pointed right at me and his blades flew right at me. What the hell am I doing? I can't fight for shit, this guys going to cut me to ribbons for no reason. What did I do to this guy, what did I do?

"What did I do?" I said

They came even closer.

"What do I do?"

Then I heard this ear-crushing voice yell one word in the back of my head and it was all the answer I needed.

**FIGHT!**

I ran right at him and the blades. I was moving fast, really fast. The first blade was aimed at my neck. I made a quick sidestep to the right; avoiding it. Two more were level with my eyes; for these I bent over backwards, so much so I had to support myself with my hands. They went over me, missing.

"How the hell am I doing this? I'm not doing this!"

"Just remain calm and let me do all the work." A voice said in my head

I stopped in my tracks and started to panic. There was a voice in my head, there's a fucking voice in my head. I'm going nuts, I know it!

"Look out!" the voice said

A third blade was only a foot away from my faces. It was too close to avoid so my reflexes told me to grab it. My hands came up and clamped down on it holding it in place.

"Cool" was all I had to say

I threw it down and the last two blades were close. These were level with my thighs. When they close enough I jumped upward and not just a normal jump. I swear I must've jumped three feet in the air.

Cutman was right in front of me now. If robots could look surprised the look on his face would be it. I pulled my arm back and slammed my fist into him as hard as I could. Much to my surprise I actually made quite a dent.

He staggered twitching sickly and he held his face. I heard machinery whine and grind as sparks flew from his face.

"Cranium integrity dropped 30%" He said

"What are you made of, aluminum?" I asked

His left eye was wrecked and the left cracked quite a bit. He was pissed.

"Switching to primary weapon." He said

A compartment opened on his torso and he took out a foot long metal rod. He hit a switch and a light came out and shaped itself into a hatchet blade. He lunged at me but I grabbed him by his wrists. He's so weak; I was scared of this guy?

I sent my knee into his mid section and made another dent.

"Torso integrity dropped 12%"

I threw Cutman on the ground making him drop his ax. As he scrambled for it I kicked it across the room. He was looking up at me. I wonder what he's thinking now. Is he scared? Can robots even feel scared and who the hell built a robot like this?

"Please…" He says

Did he just beg for his life?

"Don't hurt me."

I didn't know what to say; what do you say to this?

"Look out!" The voice in my head said

My body moved without consent and made me do a back flip. I landed a few feet back and Cutman was without a head. A little bit behind him next to his disembodied head was one of the blades from earlier. He was going to kill me with that while he begged.

"I almost fell for that. I almost died."

The body started to spark like fireworks. I think I better get back. I ran away and ducked under a table and his body exploded. The force tossed me back and my ears were ringing.

I hacked as smoke clouded around me. I wearily walked out of the smoke cloud and tripped. I looked back and Cutman's head was somewhat intact. After all this crap he still gets me beyond the grave. I kicked the head in anger.

"FUCK!" I shout "Fuck everything!"

I sat down. I needed to rest; this whole thing is too much. I just fought a damn robot and won, I'm hearing voice and suddenly I have the reflexes of a ninja.

"What's going on?" I say rubbing my temples

Almost as if God had given me a giant middle finger a black van crashes throught the entrance of the mall and park with its side door facing me.

"What now?"

The side opens and a frail old man jumps out. He has a relieved look on his face. I panic and look around for a weapon of some sort. I see Cutman's head of to the side and snatch it up.

"Get Back!" I yell "I have had the mother of all shitty days here!"

The driver's side door opens and a large, African American man holding a rifle and shotgun on his back steps out.

"We're not going to hurt you." The large man says

"I'd be more inclined to believe you if you didn't have that gun."

"And I'd be more inclined to lower it if you weren't waving someone's head around."

He and I glared for a few seconds until the old man intervened.

"Alex, are you alright? Are you experiencing any swelling or pain of any kind?"

"No, I…how do you know my name?"

"We'll discuss that later. Did you see anyone that looked like they were made of metal?"

"You mean this guy?" I asked holding out the head

When he saw the head he grabbed it and started cheering and jumping around.

"SUCCESS!" He yelled "It worked, it worked!"

"Who the hell are you guys!" I yelled

The old man was about to answer me but sirens could be heard in the distance.

"What are the police doing here?" the old man asked

"I sent a girl to go get help."

"Damn." He said "You need to come with us!"

I didn't get a chance to answer. The large man grabbed me a put me in the van. To be perfectly honest I wasn't looking forward to explaining to the police how I fought a robot with my bare hands.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

I was beginning to wonder if dealing with the police would have been that bad. I didn't feel safe around these guys; they looked eerily familiar.

"Um," I started "I was wondering if you could just drop me off at…"

"No." the large man said

Okay, that went nowhere fast.

"What do you guys want from me?"

The old man looked back at me with a smile on his face. It wasn't creepy; in fact it made me feel a little better.

"We want a hero." He answered

"Good feeling gone now!" I thought

**He's a little eccentric.**

"Who the hell is that?"

**I'm your conscience.**

"You're bullshitting me!"

**Yeah, I guess I am.**

I started to rub my temples and take deep breathes. That voice in my head doesn't exist. It's probably post-traumatic stress disorder or something like that. Just need to remain calm…alright let's test it. Marco?

**Polo**

"Goddamn it!"

"Would you two stop arguing?"

Two? but I'm the only one back here.

"Garret, don't be so hard on him. I think we should cut him some slack after what he's been through." The old man said

The van came to a halt and they got out. Garret opened the side and pulled me out by my arm. Their house was a little on the raggedy side. The white paint was chipping away to reveal an ugly, smoky gray color.

The yard was severely unkempt; having hardly any green in it. When the pushed me through the front door I saw that the inside was very plain. The living room consisted of nothing more than a coffee table, a chair and couch.

"Sit." Garret said

I sat without another word.

"Roll, are you home?" The old man called

"Yes Doctor Light."

The girl from earlier came down the hall.

"I'm glad to see you're alright. I called the police like you asked but then they took me into questioning. I know what you did and I hope you're happy to know I didn't say a thing."

"Thanks." I said

"Alex," Dr Light said "There some things we need to come clean with."

I'm surprised he remained this calm the whole time. I explained almost everything; now I just need to explain why he's hearing voices.

"Alex?" I asked "Are you alright?"

He just sat there with an expression of disbelief; hard to blame him. I move closer and kneel down to his level.

"I know what you're hearing is hard but it almost over."

His eye started to twitch; sign of stress. I was going to say some words of encouragement but he had other plans. He pulled his arm back and socked me right between the eyes. Apparently the steroid hasn't worn off yet because that hurt like a bitch.

He didn't stop at just one; he climbed on top of me and repeatedly punched me. Garret pulled him off of me before too much damage was done; although my nose was broken and I was definitely going to have a black eye tomorrow.

"You stupid old man! You could've killed me you goddamn fool!" he shouted

"Garret," I started "Let him go."

"Sir?" He asked

"I did this I need to pay for it. Let him go."

Garret obeyed and Alex gave me a kick to the stomach. He grabbed me by my shirt collar and pulled me to his face.

"Tell me why I'm hearing voices; then I'm outta here!"

"Roll, please explain to him. I'm a little woozy."

"Y-yes, doctor." I could tell she was scared of what Alex might do to her

"You see, when you were unconscious we…performed an operation on you."

"What kind of operation?" Alex asked

"On your…brain."

My brain? MY BRAIN?

"What did you do?" I said trying to keep my composure

I swear to God I'm going to kill everyone in this room. They knock me out and fuck with my brain. I'm going to the cops.

"We installed a mechanical apparatus to key parts of your mind. Your speech, motor function and knowledge center have been modified. The machine is controlled by an Artificial Intelligence program that Dr. Light created.

**That's me, buddy.**

"There's someone else in my head?" I yelled

I desperately clawed at my head. I don't know what I was trying to accomplish but I was scared. I want to go home. I fell to the floor with my fingers wrapped tightly on my head.

This can't be happening, this can't be happening! I feel like I'm on the verge of tears.

"Alex, please calm down." Roll said

"Fuck off! I tried to help you when you were getting robbed and this is how you thank me?"

The look of regret on her face was plain as day but I was so mad; I didn't care about her. I needed to get out of here. Wait, is that steroid still working?

"I'm gonna risk it." I thought

I ran for the door. Garret tried to block me but I wrapped my arms around his waist. I couldn't get that good of a grip on him but I pulled up anyway. I actually picked him up about an inch off the ground.

I didn't waste any time and threw him as hard as I could into the wall. I ran out the door as fast as my legs could go which was really fast thanks to the steroid. I heard them call after me but I didn't look back.

**That was rude, leaving without saying goodbye.**

"Shut up!"

* * *

The location was a warehouse. There was a large monitor at the very back end of the building. Cable extended from the monitor in every direction but all ended at six storage tubes with one being vacant. A single green line appeared on the monitor and twitched and zig-zaged when a voice began to speak.

"W. Series 5, Gutsman…activate." The voice said

The tube at the bottom left lit up with a neon green light.

"CHARGING SEQUENCE BEGINNING. TIME UNTIL ACTIVATION 14 HOURS"

"Cutman failed me," The voice from the monitor said "I underestimated Light's creation. That won't happen this time. Gutsman, when you are active wreak havoc in the city until you find the boy."

* * *

I managed to get home without any trouble. Mom had gone out to get groceries and Dad's shift wasn't over. This gave me some time to figure things out.

**I can understand being stressed out about this but you didn't have to throw him into the wall.**

"Quiet, I'm doing the talking hear."

Listening to this guy talk was like listening to your own thoughts, you hear but at the same time you don't.

"Okay, let's go through what I know. You're an artificial intelligence thing put in my brain, my head is wired like a Christmas tree and I have super strength."

**That's the situation in a nutshell.**

"What are you designed to do?"

**I act as a communication device between you and Light, I can monitor your vital signs and chemical levels in your body, I can calculate any combat situation and figure your percentage of survival, and I contain several files on different fighting styles and battle tactics…also, wi-fi.**

"Wow, anything else?"

**In emergency situations I can seize control of your body and speech functions.**

"That explains how I fought Cutman. I still have a few questions."

**Shoot.**

"Do you…have a name?"

**My name is Rock.**

"Okay, Rock, where did you come from?"

**I used to be a robot created by Dr. Light.**

"What happened to your body?"

**It was destroyed.**

"That really sucks."

**You don't know the half of it.**

It was silence after that; I was tired after all that happened and my body was sore. I felt really drained all of a sudden.

**It seems the steroid has worn off. You need to rest.**

He didn't need to tell me twice. I fell back and slept like a log.

* * *

I was in my bathroom washing the blood off my face. My nose looks like I got hit by a frying pan. I'm not mad at Alex for this. Hell; I would've done the same thing. The best thing to do right now is to give him space.

"Dr. Light," Roll said standing in the doorway "Do you need any help?"

"No, I'm all right."

All the blood was gone now but that was the least of my concerns. Cutman was only the first in Dr. Wily's arsenal. Dr. Albert Wily was once my colleague and friend. He and I developed all those robots together.

When we were almost finished he framed me for embezzling money from our grant and I was sent to prison for five years. In my fourth year he and the robots went missing. I know he's scheming something. That's why I created Rock when I was released.

"This is very bad. We need him." I said

"I know, Doctor but he's scared."

"He'll be dead if Wily gets his hands on him."

"Rock has a tracker built in we'll use that if Alex doesn't return."

"Fine." I said drying my face with a hand towel

"Come on, Garret made dinner for you."

* * *

Wow, I slept a long time. I looked over to my alarm clock; it says 12:34 a.m. I felt better now.

I got out of my bed to stretch; my body wasn't a sore as it was.

**You recovered from** **that gracefully.**

My stomach growled. I felt like I hadn't eaten in days.

"Wow, I'm hungry!"

**An increase in your metabolism is a side effect of the steroid. I hoped you have a stocked fridge.**

I went to the kitchen and made a beeline to the fridge. I snatched the first thing I saw; which was a pot roast from Thursday. I took the large hunk of meat and sank my teeth into it. It was cold and tough but I was so hungry.

It took me about a minute to chew through the tough meat and hardened fat but it was worth it to get a little relief from the hunger.

**That's disgusting.**

I heated the rest of it up in the microwave and finished it off.

**Feel better now?**

"Much."

It was 1:07 a.m. now. I couldn't sleep so I just laid on the couch in the living room.

"Since you're wired to my head, does that mean you can hear my thoughts?" I asked

**Only if you switch it on.**

"So you basically can't do anything unless I say so."

**That's correct. Except in the mall; I activated an emergency override that a one time deal until Dr. Light resets it.**

"Good."

** They weren't trying to hurt you. Dr. Light was desperate and he acted foolishly.**

"I don't care! He put machines in my head and I want it out!"

**I find offence to that! I'm more than a machine.**

"Sorry…wait, I'm not sorry! You're invading MY head, MY personal space, you're without MY consent. If anything, you should be sorry!"

**Do you think I want to be in some teenager's head? The man was erratic and wouldn't listen to reason. I have nothing to be sorry for.**

"You hunk of junk!"

* * *

The argument went on for a while with no sign of letting up.

It had been hours since the charging sequence began and was almost complete. The monitor at the far end of the warehouse had a clock that read "Estimated time 00:00:43"

The clock ticked away and when it reached zero the tube at the bottom left hissed and released steam as it opened with the sound of rusted metal screeched. A large figure stumbled out of the tube. It was at least fifteen feet tall with a wide build. Its arms were large as tree trunks while its legs were still big but stubby compared to the rest of his body.

His armor was a dark red from his legs to his waist but there it looked like someone just stopped painting abruptly.

"Gutsman?" Dr. Wily called from the monitor

"Yes, Doctor?"

His head moved in a clunky fashion when he spoke. What looked like his jaw took up the entire lower half of his face.

"Do you remember you objective?"

"Smash city. Kill boy."

"Good, now go."

Gutsman lumbered out of the warehouse almost falling over due to his stubby legs.

**Please review**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

**I have changed Rock's dialogue from bold text to italic. If this causes any problems please let me know**

We all know what happens after an argument; the two people get pissed off, leave for a few minutes and then they feel better after a while. Yeah; that can't happen when the guy is living in your head.

"I'm not apologizing." I said arms crossed

_I didn't do a damn thing to you! I saved your ass back in the mall!_

I clamped my hands on my ears like that would do anything.

_Do you realize how childish you look doing that?_

"Shut up." I said with clenched teeth

I heard a door open upstairs and my mom called.

"Alex, is that you or the TV?"

I fumbled with remote to turn the TV on.

"Uh, yes."

"Okay, don't stay up too late."

"Alright."

_Oh shit!_

When Rock yelled it hurt my head. I need to get this guy out!

"What is it?"

_Look._

I turned to the TV and yes, this was "oh shit" worthy. The news was on and it wasn't pretty.

"My name is Ellen Stern, and I'm reporting from downtown Holiday Heights. We are under attack with what can only be described as a giant robot."

A car flew through the air followed by a primal roar.

"Find boy! Kill boy! SMASH!"

"The local authorities have retaliated with conventional weapons but they don't do anything. We need help!"

I turned the TV off. I sat there in dead silence for a few minutes. I just need to think. If I think this through calmly and without freaking out, everything will be fine.

"Yeah, just fine."

I slowly stood up from the couch…and bolted out the door screaming. I was running in the opposite direction of the city.

_Stop running!_

I wasn't paying attention and stumbled on an uneven road pavement. My face scraped against the ground but that was the least of my worries. I got back up with no delay and kept running.

Rock kept trying to get me to stop but there was no way in hell I was. I can't fight something that can throw a car! Cutman wasn't that strong but this is a whole new league.

_We have something that will help!_

That admittedly slowed me down but I was still jogging.

"What are you talking about?"

_You didn't think Dr. Light would just send you in with a steroid needle and say "go" did you?_

I was walking now.

"I don't care if you don't trust the doctor but at least trust me."

"Please tell me it's a giant robot I can control with a remote. Please?"

_Sorry, no such luck._

"Goddamn it!" Sounding pitiful

I wasn't moving anymore. Maybe I can do it. I've seen what the steroid can do and I'm not gonna be alone in this. Maybe I have a chance.

"And maybe I'm completely off my rocker!" I yelled rubbing the sides of my head

I started to run away again.

_Are you going to let all those people die?_

I stopped again.

_Whatever is in town is chucking cars around like nothing! You heard it; it's going to destroy the city until there's nothing left. What about your friends and family; how long do you think it's going to be before they're dead?_

My hands wrapped around the back of my neck. I was trembling. I slowly lowered to my knees.

"I'm scared. I don't know what to do."

_Make the right choice please._

He almost sounded like he was begging

_I don't condone what the others did to you but they're my family and they're in danger too. Please help._

I've never had someone beg to me before. I didn't like it. It just added a whole new level of pressure on me. I'm just a stupid teenager and I'm expected to be dragged into a conflict against my will? But all those people are getting hurt.

"Goddamn it!" I said standing up

I turned to the direction of town and ran like hell. I don't know how much I can do but I can't let this happen.

"This is so stupid" I thought

_Thank you, Thank you so much._

"Whatever just tell me where I can find this thing that can help me."

_The bunker's back at the house in the doctor's backyard._

My legs were burning and begging me to slow down. I kept my pace the best I could but would sometimes need to slow to a jog. I wouldn't stop no matter what.

I made it to town and it was absolute chaos. People were rioting in the streets trying to evacuate. The doctor's house was just in sight. I sprinted over and hopped the low fence that separated the backyard from the front. There was an old shed right there like Rock said.

_Just go in. There's no time to waste._

I pulled the door open but I was greeted by darkness. I felt around for a light string or something.

_Hold on a second._

I stopped and my eyes started to hurt. I rubbed them and when I opened them back up I could see perfectly!

_I have somewhat control over small body functions. I helped your eyes adjust to the dark._

This helped me see but there was nothing to see. The only things occupying the shed were rusted tool and cobwebs.

_There's a button on your left._

There it was plain as day. I pressed it and the creak and hum of machinery could be heard. I felt something moving underneath my feet…the floor was going up! I fell back out of surprise and the floor continued to rise.

It was some sort of tube with doors on the front. It slid open with a hiss and admittedly what I saw was pretty cool. It was a mechanical suit that was a deep blue.

"Wow." That was all I could say

_There are drawers next to it; open those up._

The top drawer had a buckle up Kevlar shirt.

"I didn't know they made Kevlar shirts."

_They don't that's why it was hard to make. It's not as thick as an average Kevlar vest so you can move around easier._

I slipped it on over my shirt and jacket; it was a tight fit but I got it on. In the same drawer were…Kevlar pants? I slipped them on as well. In the middle drawer was a metal box with vials of fluid inside.

_Put that on last along with what's in the bottom drawer. Get in the suit._

When I was in front of it the suit opened up. I gulped and turned around. I walked backward into the suit. I held my arms up and it closed around me. I felt the machinery shift around me until I was encased. It felt comfortable.

_It designed to be the shape of the first person that gets in it. You're the only one who can use the suit._

"This is too much." I said rubbing my forehead

"Move around a little; see how it feels."

I stretched my arms out and walked around a little. It was a little hard to move but I just needed to break it in. I inspected the suit and found a box shaped slot on each forearm.

_Grab what's in the last two drawers._

I grabbed the box with the vials and slid it into the slot on my left arm. I opened the last drawer to find a helmet and a similar box. The helmet was round and the same deep blue as the suit. I put it on and the helmet shifted to fit me. The helmet sealed around my mouth and a green visor came out.

_Those are to help conceal your identity._

I didn't know what to say; this was amazing. I kind of wanted to just stand there and marvel in it all but I needed to go.

"Anything I can use to go fast?"

_You have jets in your feet._

"Jets?"

As soon as I said that the mechanisms in the soles of my feet started to shift and launched me into the air screaming.

_And they're voice activated._

"I could've used that bit of information earlier!" I said flailing in the air

I feel like I'm gonna be sick. I tried to straighten myself out but I ended up spinning like a pinwheel. I stopped moving around so much and that made me slow down but I still felt like blowing chunks.

"Okay; I'm good!"

I was too high. I feel so sick.

"Lower! Lower!" I shouted covering my eyes

The jets followed my command and now I was a few inches above the ground.

_I wish we had more time to train you but we need to hurry._

"Alright, uh, faster?"

I wish I hadn't said that. I shot up too fast and ended up flipping onto my back and skidded on the ground.

"Off! Off!"

I was face down in the dirt when I stopped.

"Fuck this, I'm walking!" I said getting up

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6

_I'll teach you how to fly just turn the jets on._

"Let me just give it another try. Jets!"

I shot up but was actually prepared for it. Not too bad but let's go faster.

"Faster!" I said

I made my body horizontal before the jets really kicked in and aside from screaming like a girl I was doing alright.

_Very good!_

"This beats the bus!"

In the distance I could see smoke in the middle of the city. I could also hear police sirens and gunfire going off.

_Before you go in guns blazing you should give yourself a shot._

"Of what?"

_The box on your left arm has vials in it. One of the vials has the steroid inside in case you needed another dose in a pinch. You can activate it manually or you can link me up to the suit and I can do it for you._

"I'll let you do that; I'm terrible at remembering to take medicine."

I got to the center of town and I saw what was causing all this and I immediately wanted to turn tail and run. This guy was huge and the surrounding area was rubble. He was crushing and smashing with no remorse

_That's Gutsman down there. He was created to help with contruction and demolition crews. If anyone can turn this place into a gravel pit it's him._

The police were there hopelessly shooting him with their guns. He was moving towards then at a slow pace but he wasn't getting hurt at all; he just kept walking. He made his way to a single officer that was farther ahead than the rest and the man fell back.

Gutsman picked up the officer's squad car and held it above his head.

_If we don't hurry he'll be killed!_

The jets went into overtime and I was propelled downward. I was almost to the ground; I'm gonna save him! Just as Gutsman began to bring down the car I snatched the officer and carried him into the air.

I heard the car slam behind me. The officer was covering his eyes and screaming. I took him up to a rooftop and set him down.

"Are you alright?" I asked

The man was obviously in shock; I would be too if I just had a near death experience.

"Uh, I'm going to leave you here where it's safe. When you calm down call the precinct for back up. I'll…I'll help you any way I can!" I said a little unsure of my self

As I turned around and launched off the roof I heard the officer call after me.

"Thank you!"

"Anytime!" I said back

I landed on the ground a few feet behind Gutsman. He was even bigger up close.

_Get his attention._

"Um, hey ugly!" I called

I could see Gutsman's face now. I could see his glowing red eyes. I don't feel so good right now.

"Little boy; go away!" He yelled

He started to turn away but I called again.

"Your mother runs on Windows 3.1!"

I heard Rock snickering.

"Little boy not go away? I make go away!"

It was about right now that I was getting a bit of an audience. The sudden stop of the destruction must have made everyone think it was safe. I must look so shrimpy compared to this guy.

"Do it then!" I yelled

A car sped by Gutsman trying to leave. Gutsman picked it up before it could get away and threw it at me.

"Oh shit!" I yelled

_Catch it!_

"What?"

It was too late to object. I held my hands up and braced for impact. The front of the car slammed into me and I gripped it as hard as I could. It felt like you would imagine getting hit with a car would feel.

It knocked me back and made my feet skid on the ground creating this ugly screech. I opened my eyes when I stopped moving and I was holding the car up alright. The family in the car was just as surprised as I was…except they were screaming more.

"It's okay," I said "I'm here to help you!"

I set the car down as gently as I could and they drove as fast as they could.

"Drive safe!" I said waving after them

Gutsman's head was turned sideways in confusion.

"Little boy lift car? Car bigger than boy…you robot?"

"Uh…"

_Don't answer him, just shoot him!_

"Shoot him?"

"You rude! Boy not answer me!"

Yep; he was mad. He was charging right at me. What the hell do I do now?

_The box on your right arm is a buster. Shoot him!_

"What the hell's a buster?"

That was the wrong time to be asking questions. Gutsman tackled me and sent me flying into a fire hydrant. It broke off and now I was drenched.

He reached for me but I desperately kicked his hands away. I scrambled to my feet and tried to run but Gutsman snatched me up.

"Stupid boy," He said "Now I'll crush you!"

His grip on me grew tight until I heard my armor strain.

_Hold out your buster arm!_

I held my right hand out and the box opened up. Machinery began to unfold and shift around my hand until it was a blue rounded cannon. A solid white beam shot out and clipped Gutsman on his shoulder.

He let out a loud roar as he grabbed his wound.

"I'm angry now!"

"What were you before?" I asked

Apparently manners weren't part of his repertoire as he just ran right at me. For a guy with stubby legs he was admittedly fast. I kicked in my jets to get out of his way but he grabbed my leg before I was out of reach and threw me into a building wall.

He threw me so hard that I went through the wall. I pushed myself up and saw I was in a small convenience store and I knocked over a cardboard stand full of Twinkies.

"I hate Twinkies" I said kicking the treats away

"Guts hammer!" Gutsman called

His right fist came apart and reassembled into a hammer. He smashed the hole in the wall and made it bigger. The store started to rumble. I tried to run out the front door but a piece of roof struck my head and the whole store came tumbling down on me.

"I win!" I heard him call

I mustered up all of my strength and pushed myself up out of the rubble.

"Like hell you did!"

I sprinted at him and when he tried to hit me with his hammer I used my jets to jump high in the air. He missed and I gave him a swift kick to the head. He recoiled and I took my chance; I fired into his face a few times.

He desperately swung his hammer around. I must have really damaged his eyes; he wasn't hitting me at all. The hammer got one lucky shot in on my right shoulder and I heard a wet cracking sound.

"You son of a bitch!" I yelled clutching my shoulder

_You're going to be okay; your shoulder's just dislocated._

"Well if that's all it is!" with sarcasm so thick you need a hacksaw

_Get up; we have him on the ropes!_

Gutsman was roaring and swinging his hammer still. All he was doing was hitting buildings and cars by accident. I slowly lifted my buster arm; it hurt so much. I just needed one good shot.

_Charge it up before you fire._

"Charge shot!"

A ball of energy gathered at the barrel of the buster. It was heating up and rattling.

"Fire!"

It was a clean shot right to the head and blew it clean off. Gutsman's now headless body crumbled to the ground. It was silent now; nothing but my deep breathing.

"Excuse me." I heard

I turned around and saw that the townspeople had gathered behind me. The officer that I saved was there too. He slowly shuffled up to me. I guess he was scared.

"As an officer of the Holiday Heights police department; I'd like to thank for your help, sir."

The crowd of people burst into applause. It was really embarrassing; I'm one of those guys that don't want to be the center of attention.

"Y-you're welcome."

"Just who are you?"

"I haven't really figured that part out yet."

My jets kicked in and I flew off waving goodbye. I got to the top of a tall building and sat down on the edge.

"My body hurts." I said lying down

_If it makes you feel any better; I thought you did very well._

"How many of those robots are there?"

_We've got two of them taken care of but there are still a few left and we don't know if Wily made any more in his absence._

"Just great."

_I think we should go back to the doctor and get your arm checked out._

"Alright but first things first."

_What?_

"If you and I are going to be this superhero team we need a name!"

_Damn, teenager._

**Please review**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

For the time being I said screw the name and went back to the doctor. He was a little worked up.

"This is incredible!" He cheered "You preformed above average. You didn't even need prior training and you took down two of the robot masters!"

"Thank you." I said a little on the uncomfortable side

Doctor Light started to rub the sides of my head.

"Rock, you did great as well. I'm sure you taught him the ropes."

_Thank you, Doctor_

"Rock says thanks."

"And how's your communication with Rock? Does everything come through clear enough?"

"Oh yeah, everything peaches and cream aside from this little thing, now what was it? Oh, I remember…you put a robot in my head!"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. Roll, do you have the coffee?"

"Yes sir." Roll said walking into the living room

She handed me a cup. I wasn't a big fan but I needed something to take the edge off. I was still in disbelief of any of the stuff I did. I took a sip and the bitter taste struck my tongue; it was a good distraction.

"If you can do all this being so inexperienced, who knows what you can do with full training!"

"Doctor, don't get carried away. I think there's something you need to ask Alex first."

"What? Oh, right. Alex, we thank you so much for helping the city and we wish to ask you if…you wanted to continue to do so?"

My heart sank at the mere thought of it. Do all of this again! I feel sick again.

_We won't blame you if you don't want to but we want you to stay. Please, just think about it._

Before I could respond the front door opened and Garret walked through. He was wearing green silk pajamas and a pair of bunny slippers.

_Don't mention the slippers; he hates that._

"Noted." I thought

He went through his pocket and pulled out a small metal chunk. He set it in front of the Doctor.

"I thought this would be of use." He said

"What is that?" I asked

Garret didn't answer me. I guess he's still mad about me throwing him. Instead Doctor Light spoke up.

"It's Gutsman's hard drive; or his brain."

"Pretty small; no wonder he couldn't speak in full sentences. Wait, how'd you guys get this before the police took the body away?"

"You weren't exactly stealthy," Roll started "we heard you taking the suit and we sent Garret out before you left."

"Never mind that, with this we can create new weapons for you. You'll much more of a chance with this!" Doctor Light said

"Wait, wait! What if I don't want to do this? I don't know much about these robot masters but even I can tell that those guys weren't their best. I almost died against Gutsman and I'm a kid. I'm in high school and failing economics; I can't worry about this too! I'm sorry but…but I don't think I can do this."

I couldn't look at their faces; if I did I would agree. I can't stand it when people are disappointed in me.

"I need to leave. I'll be back tomorrow to get Rock out of my head." I said getting up

I stood firm and didn't look at their faces. I walked out the door but a large hand gripped my shoulder to turn me around. Garret's face was not one of anger or disappointment; it was one of calm indifference.

"You did a good job today. I want you to promise you'll at least think about it." He said

_Wow, it's not every day he compliments someone._

"You're the only one that can use the drugs and the suit. Its either you or no one."

"I'm just a kid."

"And you're the only chance we have! I don't like it either but Wily is a sick man and we know he's been up to something."

"Why can't you get someone else? I can't do this on my own!"

"Do you honestly think you're alone? Look around this room and in your own head. We're all in this."

"I'm the one doing the fighting here! If I die you guys can just screw with the suit and drugs and get someone else."

_Excuse me, but if you die I die._

"Didn't you hear what I just said? You're the only one."

This was too much! I can't do it, I just can't. I turned to leave again.

"Fine, just leave. You'll be back."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" I yelled

He just smiled. This guy was getting on my last nerve!

"You're not that kind of person." Roll said getting in front of Garret "If you were really scared you wouldn't have done any of this. When Cutman attacked you thought of me and told me to run and when you heard about the city getting attacked you fought even though you were scared. You're not just going to let people suffer; you're too good for that."

I got a little choked up at that speech. She was right; I was scared but I killed Gutsman anyway.

"Please help." Her final statement

The silence kept for at least a minute after that. I lowered my head and let out an irritated groan.

"What do I have to do?" I said lifting my head up

Roll hugged me saying thank you countless times. Needless to say everyone was happy about my decision. Maybe I'll learn to enjoy this hero stuff later on.

* * *

"It seems Light has found himself a competent subject. I wonder if he'll last longer than the last one. I won't make the same mistake twice. I can't spare to send out more than one the generator can't take it so I need to be methodical about this; I can't risk losing another robot right now. I'll send a few Sniper Joe's his way instead but not today; the generator needs to cool down."

* * *

It was almost noon by the time I got home and my mom wasn't happy.

"Where the hell did you go last night?" She yelled

My mom was the quiet type mostly so when she actually yelled you knew you were in some serious shit.

"I hear you screaming and running out the door and I don't see you for hours!"

"I'm sorry." I said

"You heard about the attack last night; you could've been killed!"

_If only she knew the truth._

"Zip it!" I thought

"Why did you just run out of the house?"

"I saw the news report and I freaked out."

Mom wasn't buying it but it was the truth.

"Fine, let's just say I actually believe that; where did you go for so long?"

"I was…"

"Well?"

"I was helping someone!"

"What?"

"There's a man named doctor Light, he needed my help with something."

"At three in the morning?"

"Well he didn't call me I was worried about him. He was in the city where the attack happened and I was worried."

"Why haven't you mentioned doctor Light before?"

"I've only met him recently."

"Do you have his number? I'd like to confirm this."

I'm lucky Light actually gave me a number. I read it off from the paper in my pocket and she went to the phone.

"Hello, may I speak to a doctor Light please?" She started "Yes, hello I'd like to ask you something, my name is Dahlia Spencer, and I'm wondering if you've ever met my son Alex? You have? Alex went running out the door last night and he said to he was helping you. He was? Okay thank you."

She hung up and turned to me. She still wasn't happy.

"How old is he?"

"I think in his early seventies or late sixties."

"I'm still angry with you but I'm glad you were keeping someone safe; just tell me next time."

"Okay, mom." I said nodding

_You need to thank the doctor next time you see him._

"You got that right." I thought

"You look exhausted." Mom said "Go get some sleep."

"I can't, I need to meet the doctor again soon. I just thought I should come home and check in."

"Alex, you look like you're going to keel over any second, please go sleep."

"I will later."

I won't bore you with the details but that disagreement went on for a minute or two. I was on my way back to the doctor and the walk there was a lot harder. I was really tired and there was a roadblock where I fought Gutsman so I had to go the long way around.

_Alex, you're wobbling; are you going to be alright?_

I can't remember the last time I felt this tired. I leaned my back against a brick wall and sank down until I was sitting. I wanted nothing more than to shut my eyes and sleep. My eyes felt heavy and started to close until out of nowhere I slapped myself!

_Do you feel better now?_

"Yeah, actually." I said rubbing my sore cheek

_We're almost there just two blocks left._

I managed to get there and the doctor greeted me with a clipboard and pencil.

"I need to ask you a few questions. Are you allergic to any medication?"

"Tylenol." I answered

"Are you taking any medication now? Prescription and over the counter."

"I take Benadryl to sleep at night sometimes."

"Have you ever had any broken limbs or tendons?"

"No, I haven't."

"Have you ever contracted a sexually transmitted disease?"

"What? No!"

"Have you ever paid a prostitute to…"

"No!" I interrupted

"Do you have any mental illnesses?"

"My mom thinks I have ADHD."

"What does your diet consist of?"

"Well, my mom tries to keep stuff healthy but we've had to get fast food a lot lately."

"We'll need to change that. Do you have any food allergies?"

"Mayo and…that's it I think."

"Last question, do you have asthma or any respiratory problems?"

"I had to use one when I was nine but not anymore."

"Good, that's all. Aside for a few small things here you sound healthy but now we need to give you a physical. Take off your shirt and pants."

I slipped them off as Garret came into the room.

"Hold your arms out." Garret commanded

I did as he said and he started to feel my arms.

"You're scrawny." He said

"And you're rude." I said

As Garret gave me the pat down the doctor told me to follow a flashlight with my eyes. My eyes were fine and my body was scrawny and unimpressive.

"You need to work out more." Garret said

"Isn't that what the steroid is for?"

"If you take too much you could become addicted and there are a few side effects of prolonged use."

"Like what?"

"The common effects; acne, rage fits, decrease in HDL…"

"What's HDL?"

"Good cholesterol." Others include decreased sperm count, shrinking in the testicles and gynecomastia."

"What was that last part?" I asked feeling scared

"You could grow breasts."

I let out a high pitched yell.

"Calm down. This isn't like other steroids. Those effects will only happen if you abuse it."

"Okay." I said shaking

This was fucking scary! I don't want any of that!

"You'll be fine; we'll regulate your doses very carefully to avoid that." The doctor said

"Now it's time for your training. We need to strap you down though." Garret said

"What for?"

_It's not going to be as bad as you think._

They weren't giving me a straight answer. They lead me to an operating table and strapped me down. I somewhat trusted these guys so I didn't fight back. It was when they put some helmet with cables collected to the doctor's computer that I started fighting.

"What are you guys gonna do?" I asked sheepishly

"We don't have enough time to teach you everything you need to know so we're going to download it to your brain."

"Why the hell do I need to be strapped down for this?"

_It's going to hurt like a son of a bitch._

"Wait, stop!" I pleaded

It was too late; the doctor began to type on his keyboard.

"Beginning download…now!"

I heard electricity crackle in the wires. It rushed into my head and I can safely say that this is the most painful experience of my life.

"!"

**Please Review**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

I'm assuming you want to know what this feels like. Imagine that your head is a trash bag and that people just keep cramming stuff inside it. It just keeps coming and coming until you tear open.

_You're doing fine; it's almost over with._

I hadn't stopped screaming. My voice was now hoarse and my throat dry and raw. I thrashed around to get away; it hurt so much. Random numbers and images would flash in my mind. They went by too fast to find out what they were.

_Just hold out a little longer._

The crackle in the wires began to cease and the pain dulled. I was dizzy as hell. Doctor Light and Garret released the straps.

"Alex, are you feeling alright?" The doctor asked

I couldn't find the words.

"We just downloaded Rock's remaining programs into the apparatus on your brain. You now have access to a one terabyte hard drive, you can switch off Rock's ability to read your thoughts whenever you wish, you can send him out on his own and you have a direct link to the World Wide Web. Every time you are asked a question your brain searches the internet for the answer. In short; you know everything the internet knows."

_I guess that means you know how to piss off everybody on a forum._

"I'm going to ask you a few questions. These are all randomly selected and not two of them are on the same subject. In what movie did actor Jack Nicholson play a masochist who enjoyed going to the dentist?"

"The original Little Shop of Horrors." I said automatically

"Good, now…"

"Directed by king of schlock cinema Roger Corman," I interrupted "many of Corman's films were featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000!"

"We need to move on." He said

"Mystery Science Theater was created in 1988 and went until 1999!"

"He's stuck, doctor." Garret commented

I couldn't stop; every time I got done saying something a new piece of information slightly related to what I was saying before would pop into my head and I would say it.

"He tried to kill me with a forklift!" I sang

"What do we do?" Garret asked

"I'm stumped. Roll, can you help us please?" The doctor called

"Torgo, you're the laziest man on mars!" I yelled

"Rock, try to get some sense into Alex." Garret said

_One of the flaws about being in his head is that I can't tell you I've been trying to._

I saw Roll enter the room in the corner of my eye. She looked down at me for a few seconds then slapped me across the face.

"OW!" I yelled rubbing my face

"Well, that worked." The doctor said

I rubbed my head. All that information was still swimming around.

"I don't even know what Mystery Science Theater is!" I yelled

"I hope I don't have to do that again." Roll said

We decided that the download was a success and we didn't need to go on with the tests. Before I left Doctor Light gave me a cardboard box and told me to keep it with me at all times. I was still really tired so I didn't look inside. I was more interested in what else I could do with Rock.

I closed the door to my room and told my mother I needed quiet for some homework I didn't get done with.

"Okay, so now I can access the Internet with my brain?"

_Yes._

"So, I can go to any website?"

_Just say and I'll take you there._

"Alright, let's try something simple. Google search."

A screen popped up in front of me. I jumped back and fell on my behind.

"Get that out of here what if someone sees that?"

_Only you can see it. It' an image your mind creates to make the program easier to use._

"Wow. Cool."

The screen looked normal but it was see through and looked like it was made of glass. I walked around and the screen followed always remaining in front of me.

_Tell it what you want to search but I need to warn you sometimes the data will get sidetracked and go into your head._

"Could you explain that a little better?"

_Alright, let's say you looked up Michael Jackson; there is a chance you would be moon walking everywhere._

"Does that mean I could do that leaning thing he does for Smooth Criminal cause that would be awesome!"

_This is serious…but to be honest I'd like to see that._

"I'll try that out in a bit but first search news report."

_Trying to see if we made the news?_

"Dude, I know we made the news. When's the last time there was a robot attack?"

The screen brought up a number of results; most of them were text but one was video. I reached at the screen and tapped it. It took up the whole screen as it starting playing.

"This is Ellen Stern for the Holiday Heights news." The newswoman began "Last night the city was under attack by strangely enough a giant robot. Our local police force tried valiantly to hold back the attack but the hero of that day was a strange blue man who flew onto the scene and destroyed the robot."

They show a brief video clip of me shooting Gutsman's head off. I tensed up at seeing him again.

"Let's go to the streets to see what everyone else thought of our blue hero."

The first person they cut to was the officer I saved. He wasn't alone; a middle aged woman and a little boy around maybe seven were with him.

"What exactly happened?" she asked the officer

"The robot or whatever almost hit me with a damn car. I just about called it quits but out of nowhere this little guy swoops in and flies me to the roof. I thought I was dead. I don't know where he came from but I hope he stays. I don't know if he's watching this but I just want to let him know that I'm thankful for what he did and so is my family."

The newswoman brought the mic to the woman.

"Thank you so much, you're an angel!" she said getting teary eyed

The little boy was next. He was shy and hid behind his dad.

"Don't be shy." The dad said

The kid took a deep breath and snatched the mic.

"You're awesome! Thank you so much! No, you're better than awesome; you're mega awesome!"

I was blushing and felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

_Looks like you're a hit._

"I needn't say more on the subject," The newswoman continued "we don't know much about our little blue friend but we're all glad he's here."

The news cut off now. I felt so weird; I was scared but I also wanted to don the suit again and go kick Wily's ass.

"I think I just figured out something." I said

_What?_

"My name, I want my name to be…Mega Man."

I somehow felt that Rock was smiling. Needles to say I had a big grin on my face too. I felt like I was the king of the world.

* * *

It was Monday which meant it was time to go back to school. It was first period; gym. IT was one of those days where the coach didn't have anything planned so we all had to run laps around the gym. I was doing a light jog; the coach said you could go as fast as you wanted as long as you didn't walk.

_Is it like this every Monday?_

"Not really; but it's common." I said

Two girls walked by and gave me a strange look.

"I need to stop talking to you out loud." I thought

_Well, just talk with your head. Come on in there's plenty of room in here!_

"Oh ha ha, that's really funny you ass!"

"Spencer!" The coach called "Who are you talking to?"

"Nobody, sir!"

_LOL!_

"Oh no, don't start text talking to me!" I thought

* * *

Second period was up next; British Literature. We were in the last few acts of Macbeth. My teacher in this class was Ms. Lorene Moore. She was an elderly African American woman. She was skinny as a twig and of average height. She was intelligent and well spoken but at the same time loud and in your face. She had this habit of going into a long lecture about how hardly anyone in the class actually read.

"Y'all always actin' so stupid!" Shouted Ms. Moore

She was admittedly a stereotypical old black woman. She was a devout Christian and always said stuff like Jesus loves you or God bless. I didn't really believe in that stuff but it was still nice for her to say that.

_How can you even concentrate with all this yelling?_

"You get used to it." I thought

* * *

Third period is one of those middle of the road classes. It's not really exciting but it's not boring either. Mr. Sanford, my Graphical Design teacher likes to play music during his class to liven things up. Each student had a turn to select a song and have it play during class. I'm always last to pick because the list goes in alphabetically order by last name.

Most of the time the students pick rap but once in a blue moon somebody picks a crummy uninspired pop song. Those days make my ears bleed and luckily this wasn't one of those days. Since I picked on Friday the list resets and Mr. Sanford gets to pick. He picked Candle in the Wind by Elton John. That one's one of my favorites.

**And it seems to me you lived you life like a candle in the wind.**

**Never knowin' who to cling to when the rain set in**

**And I would've liked to love you…**

_Man of good taste I see._

* * *

The day was going by alright. I was only caught talking to rock once and it was pretty relaxed all day. Fourth was Environmental Science but I was going to be late. I had to use the bathroom.

_I don't understand why you didn't go during third._

"I didn't have to then."

_Are you ten or something?_

"Shut up." I said zipping my pants up

* * *

"Are the Sniper Joes ready to be deployed?" Wily asked

"Yes, sir," Said an unseen figure "Where should we strike?"

"Let's pick something that will definitely get Light's attention; attack Holiday Heights High School."

"We will sir."

* * *

In fourth period Andrew was with me. He had seen the news reports so that was all he wanted to talk about.

"Did you see that shit, man? There was a robot fight right in our city!"

"I'm more scared than excited about this." I said

"Oh come on, that blue guy kicked its ass; we'll be fine around here."

_It's amazing how willing they are to trust someone they saw yesterday. I can't tell if you made a good impression or if your city is full of morons._

"Up yours." I said

"What did you say?" Andrew asked

"N-nothing, I was talking to myself!"

The bell rang to signal that fourth period was over. We all filed out of the classroom and into the hallways.

"Where do you think he came from?" Andrew asked "Is he a robot like the other guy?"

I didn't have a chance to answer him and wouldn't have a chance for some time. We were on the first floor of the school and as we crossed in front of the school's doors they swung open knocking a student to the ground. On the other side of the door was a tall bulky green robot. Its left arm had a shield and a rifle on the right.

"What the…" Andrew began to say

The robot pointed his rifle at us and started firing. The students scattered and started screaming. I grabbed Andrew by the arm and started to run. I don't think I got hit but I was the lucky one. As I ran down the hallway I saw students falling all around me.

I made a quick right turn and ran down a flight of stairs. We were headed straight to the basement.

"What was that thing?" I yelled

_It was a Sniper Joe; they're basic grunt soldiers. They're Wily's creations._

"I don't know; why are you asking me?" Andrew said

"Are there any more?"

_I'm picking up multiple energy signatures around the school; how the hell did I miss them? They must have flown here or something._

"Why do you keep asking me this?"

"Andrew, shut up!" I yelled

We were at the basement entrance. I desperately pulled at the door but it was locked.

"Goddamn it!"

I yanked the handle again and again. I needed to get Andrew out of here.

"Open you son of a bitch!"

I heard footfalls on the stairs. They were coming this way!

"We're boned!" Andrew yelled

_Alex! Do you have that box doctor light gave you?_

"I do!"

I unzipped my backpack and shuffled around the contents to find the box. I could hear the steps getting closer. I got the box! I yanked the cover off and found three items; a black remote with a blue button, a pillbox and a microchip looking thing.

"What the hell am I going to do with this!"

_Take one of the pills._

I popped one in my mouth and swallowed it dry. I felt a familiar rush go through my body. These were pill versions of the steroid! The Sniper Joe made it all the way down the steps. It aimed its rifle and a red dot appeared on Andrew's forehead.

"No!" He yelled covering his eyes

I wrapped my hands around the robot's rifle arm and pulled as hard as I could. The rifle ripped off and went haywire. It started to fire at random. I pointed it at the Joe and the bullets flew right into its head and torso. I held it at the robot until it fell to the ground. When the ammo ran out I tossed the gun aside.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked

Andrew was speechless but at least he was okay.

"How did you do that?" he asked

"Uh, I guess these things are weaker than they look." I said

"Don't feed me that crap, tell me how you did that!"

"Sorry!"

I clocked Andrew on the top of his head. Not too hard but enough to knock him out. I yanked the door handle with my new strength and it came of the hinges. I put Andrew inside and proper the door back in place.

"Now that that's taken care of I need to figure out how to get rid of the Joes. I can handle one on my own but there's tons of 'em up there."

_Try the switch._

I picked the switch up from the box and pressed it. It started to beep and…nothing happened.

"Damn."

_Do you hear something?_

"Besides the beeping?"

_It sounds like footsteps._

"Crap, another one of those things are coming!"

I took an amateur fighting stance to fight off the Joe. As the footsteps got closer I got more and more scared. I held my hands up to throw a punch but it wasn't needed. We the Joe got here I saw it wasn't a Joe at all; it was my suit.

_The switch must send out a signal at the suit follows it._

I smiled to myself.

"Looks like the playing field is level."

**Please Review**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

The one downside to using the pills was that they didn't last long. I had got my suit on and ran up the stairs by the time it wore off. To make matter worse; the steroid vial in my suit hasn't been refilled.

"Looks like I'll have to conserve these." I said stuffing the remaining pills into a containment slot on my chest.

_I was doing more scans and I found at least fifteen Joes and some other signature I don't recognize._

"It's not a robot master?"

_No, this one is…much more powerful._

"Great, just what I needed," I said "Where are most of the Joes?"

_It looks like there are four in this hallway, three on the second floor, and four in the gym. That other signature is in the gym as well._

I braced myself against the wall and carefully stuck my head out enough to see down the hall. I saw one of the Joes already.

"How didn't he hear us?" I thought

_Joes aren't too smart._

"If I use my buster will that alert all the others?"

_They're already alerted since you killed one but it wouldn't hurt to go with the stealthy approach._

I crept out on my tiptoes as quietly as I could. It was a piss-poor effort, though because the Joe instantly turned around and saw me! I panicked and shot it leaving a hole in its torso.

"That could've gone a lot worse." I said

"WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?" a robotic voice asked

"IT CAME FROM DOWN HERE, FOLLOW ME." Another said

"Crap!" I said running

A bullet whizzed by my head while I ran. I aimed the buster behind me while trying to keep my pace. I let a shot go and one of the Joes fell. The other one was armed with an assault rifle and fired around like mad. I felt the bullets pelt the back of my suit. It felt like a bunch of people kept on punching my back. I dove into an open classroom.

"Am I hit?" I asked

_No, the suit hasn't been breached. You're okay._

The Joe came through the doorway and was greeted with a shot to the shoulder. Its gun arm fell off but it tried to tackle me. I met it head on and tackled him back, which was a stupid plan! I was knocked into the wall, which hurts a whole lot more than it did last time. I tried to get up but it punched me with its shield arm.

While I was on the floor I shot my buster at its foot. It fell down and thrashed around to get up. I put one more shot into its face and it stopped moving.

"I can already tell I'm going to hate these things!" I said kicking the junk heap

_Do you feel alright?_

"I'm okay."

The gym was at the end of the hallway; you could tell because of the smell of old wood. I heard talking the closer I got to it…oh my god! They took the school hostage!

_Alex, hide! The other Joes are coming down the hall!_

The only place to hide was in a broom closet. I closed myself inside and accidently stepped in a mop bucket. As I heard the Joes walk by I clamped my hands over my mouth guard.

_All the Joes are in the gym now._

"I'm gonna need more than this buster for all of them."

_Take the microchip and inert it into the slot on the back of your neck._

I pulled the chip out and did as he instructed. A little bar appear on the top left of my visor.

"…well?" I asked

_I'm not sure either._

"Well isn't that just grand!"

I eased out of the room and looked down the hallway. At the end of the hall I saw Joes leading students into the gym.

"How many hostages do you think they have?"

_Hold on; let me check a few things. According to police reports there are squad cars outside the school and most of the students are outside. I don't think they have that many._

I waited until the last Joe entered the gym before I followed. I took out one of the pills and held it close to my mouth. I pressed my head against the door to hear what was going on.

"WE FOUND AS MANY STUDENTS AS WE COULD." A Joe said

"Good, this will get Light's attention." An unknown voice said

It sounded almost human with an accent to it. It was light and barely noticeable

"What is that?"

_He has a light Jamaican accent._

"Any plans?"

_We're outnumbered that's for sure. I don't know what we can do._

I didn't have many options. I could go in guns blazing but the Joes have guns and I don't know how many more bullets the suit can take.

"Remind me to tell the doctor to put a stats screen or something in this suit."

_Noted._

I tossed the pill in my mouth and kicked the door. I had the element of surprise; I shot the Joe closest to me. There were a few students tied up and on their knees; maybe twenty or so.

"Freeze!" I shouted

The other three Joes opened fire on me. I rolled out of the way and let off another shot. It was sloppy and only grazed one of them.

"Damn!" I shouted

I let off two more and was a little better; the one I shot before fell over and I knocked the gun arm off another one. The last Joe aimed for me to shoot.

"Stop!" The Jamaican voice said

I looked around for the voice. There was no one around aside from the students who; by the way; were afraid and screaming for help. The Joes stood in attention.

"Up here!" It said again

I looked up to the rafters and there was a black robot. It jumped down in front of the Joes and to be honest the only thing I could pay attention to were the guy's ears. Well; I don't know if you could call them ears, they were more like orange bat wings on his helmet. He was almost all black except for purple line that went down his torso that split into two around his waist and went down the front of his legs.

"So, you're Light's pawn?" He started "To be honest I was hoping for something a little more impressive but Light always scrapes the bottom of the barrel."

I couldn't really say anything. I wasn't good at the witty banter thing.

"Do you have a name?" He asked

"Um…Mega Man! My name is Mega Man!"

He scoffed.

"Get him." He said nonchalantly

A new squad of Joes crashed through the gym roof. He must've had these guys in reserve. They all piled on me grabbing my arms and legs. I couldn't move.

"Hold him still!" He shouted

He held out his arm and a box on his left arm opened up and folded out. His arm turned into a sniper rifle type gun.

"Let go of me, you assholes!" I shouted

Super strength is great and all but in situations like this it's about a helpful as fighting the Normandy landing with a super soaker. I couldn't move worth shit! He aimed the rifle at me and a red dot sight appeared on my neck. As I thrashed and yelled the suit began to spark. Numbers began to flash across my visor and the bar at the top left started glowing.

The suit became enveloped in a dark red aura. The aura went away and the suit was a different color. It was red and yelled. I pulled my arms and legs together and threw them out with all my strength. The Joes did more than let go; they went flying in all directions. They all crashed through the walls and ceiling.

_Whoa!_

"Did I just do that?" I thought

_Watch out!_

Shots rang out from his rifle. I jumped out of the way as one of the bullets grazed my arm. He held out his right arm and another box folded out into a purple blade. He took a fighting stance and then he just disappeared.

_Behind you!_

I really should have seen that coming. I turned as fast as I could and grabbed the blade stopping it a few inches from my stomach.

"Back off!" I shouted

I punched him in his gut and he went flying. He hit the ceiling and then the floor.

"Is that all you've got?" He yelled

He disappeared again.

"How the hell does he keep doing that?"

_He's moving too fast for your eyes to keep up._

I expected him to be behind me again but he came from above. I crossed my arms above my head blocking his sword. He took the side of his rifle and smacked the side of my head. I stumbled back and he landed on the floor. He aimed his rifle at me and let out three shots.

_Alex!_

I fell on my behind. My stomach was burning. I looked down and saw two holes in my suit. I felt something warm oozing up my throat. I coughed and a liquid came out. My face guard couldn't let it up and the liquid went up my nose. I couldn't breathe.

I desperately pulled at my face guard and pulled it off. I hacked again and blood flew out. I could only smell my own blood. It was the worst thing I'd ever smelled. I tried to wipe it away the best I could but it only smeared and got everywhere.

"Too much blood," I thought "so much of it. My blood."

A puddle was forming below me as I kept coughing and wiping my face. A hand clamped around my neck and held me high. His sword arm was gone now.

"I must say, red is more your color." He said

I looked down and saw the color of my suit changing back to blue. It was then I saw how much I bled over myself. It was so red and dripping. I tried to cough up more blood but his grip was too strong. I was going to suffocate on my own blood.

I raised my buster arm to his face but he grabbed it and twisted it until I heard a wet cracking sound. I screamed an awful gurgling scream.

"What the fuck are you?" I strained

"If you must know, my name is Bass."

My lungs started to burn; begging for oxygen. I thrashed my legs around trying to kick him. My feet made contact but the steroid pill had long worn off.

"So sad, I hate to see an animal like you in pain." Bass said

_Fuck off!_

He aimed his rifle at me. I hacked as hard as I could and spit out a wad of blood and saliva into his eyes.

"Oh god!" He yelled dropping me and rubbing his face

The bar on my visor had a little left in it. I plunged my arm into the gym floor and took the last of my steroid pills. I use the last bit of my strength and pulled up as hard as I could. The floor began to crack and break. I pulled up a large piece of cement and hard wood flooring that was easily twice my size.

I threw it at him; it hit like giant bowling ball and sent him crashing through multiple walls. I sprinted after the ball; it continued to crash through two more walls before it and Bass were outside. The ball broke after that rolled away from Bass. I didn't give Bass any time to recover. I jumped onto him and used my good arm to punch him in his face.

I had forgotten all about the bullet wounds in my stomach and just kept punching. I soon started lurching more blood on him. I started to feel really woozy; so much so that my punches had no force behind them. I had lost too much blood. I rolled off of him and laid myself on my stomach.

_Alex, we need to get you to the doctor. You're severely hurt._

"No shit." I said

_Alex if you fall asleep you may bleed out before we can get you help!_

I couldn't get up; I was too tired.

"I can't."

_Don't fall asleep you son of a bitch!_

"Sorry."

Rock continued to yell at me but as everything around me started to go black his words became harder and harder to hear until there was nothing.

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	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 10

"Goddamn kid!" I yelled

"That hurt like hell. This kid was tougher than I thought." I thought

I pushed myself up. Mega Man was lying right next to me. He was bleeding out; blood had begun to leak out his suit and pool around him. I brought out my sword and positioned it above his face.

"I can see why Wily wanted you dead. You're a bitch to deal with."

I raised my arm up to stab but just then Mega Man's eyes snapped open and he pointed his buster at me. He was aiming straight for my head.

"You don't know when to quit." I said

He just glared at me.

"We can keep this stand off as long as you want. At the rate you're losing blood you'll be dead soon enough."

His hand was shaking; I saw fear in him. I smiled to myself but it went away when he began to charge his buster.

"You talk too much." He groaned

The shot fired; I was taken by surprise and the shot grazed the side of my face. My helmet broke and singed the flesh underneath. I yelled and held my wound. I fell to the ground yelling.

"You're human under there?" He asked

"Go to hell!" I screamed

I took out my rifle and aimed for his head but my moment was short-lived.

"This is the Holiday Heights police, put down the weapon!" A cop said

They had a small group around us. I could kill them all but Wily told me not to let too many people see me. I looked back at Mega Man

"You got lucky this time. Next time, I'll kill you."

I used my speed to leave without a trace.

* * *

I feel like I'm dying. My body is damp with my blood and I'm getting woozier by the second.

"Hey, blue guy!"

The group of officers came walking towards me. I put my faceguard back on before they saw me. They brought a stretcher with them and put me on it. The officer closer to my head started to talk to me.

"You feelin' alright?"

"No, I'm shot." I answered

_I was worried there for a second._

"We'll get you to an ambulance."

"Hey, are the students alright?" I asked

"We got most of them out without damage but unfortunately there were quite a few injuries."

"Any…any deaths?" I asked fearing the answer I might get

"There were two." He said

"God damn it." I said in a bitter tone

We got to the ambulance and they loaded me up. Before the doors closed the officer spoke up.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. You saved so many people in there. You did more than we could. Thanks again, blue guy."

"Thank you." I said "In your report on this please don't call me blue guy. My name is Mega Man!"

The officer saluted me and nodded. I answered with a thumbs up. The paramedics reached for my helmet.

"Don't, please." I said holding them by their wrists

They reached for my helmet again.

"We need to put an oxygen mask on you." One of them said

The second guy restrained me.

"Damn it!" I yelled

I threw my buster arm up and let out a shot. The driver of the ambulance was surprised and swerved around the street. The driver crashed into a building and I took my chance. I elbowed the paramedics and tackled the ambulance door. It opened and I fell to the ground. I kicked in my jets and flew off.

_Why didn't you do that before they put us in the ambulance?_

"I just narrowly escaped death, cut me some slack!"

I had almost made my way to the doctor's house when the jets started to sputter.

"Please don't tell me these things need fuel."

_Sorry._

I tried to land the best I could but the jets quit on me and I fell face first into the front yard.

_Are you alright?_

"Don't ask me that for the rest of day."

I pulled myself up and stumbled to the doctor's front door. Just when I was going to knock I coughed up more blood and fell over. My head hit the door making a loud bang. The door opened and two pairs of hands grabbed me. They didn't ask any questions; I guess this wasn't the best time to.

They took me to the basement and put me on an operating table. They stripped me until nothing was left and strapped a mask to my face.

"Alex, can you hear me?" The doctor asked

I nodded.

"Take deep breaths and stay calm."

I went unconscious in mere seconds and didn't wake up for a while.

* * *

_Alex? Alex can you hear me?_

"What?" I asked

I felt odd; I felt awake but something was off. Normally Dr. Light's basement is cold and smells like oil but now there's nothing.

"What's going on?"

_I wanted to see how you're doing so I followed you into you dream._

"How the hell does that work?"

_We share the same mind, Alex._

"Oh, right."

_The operation's almost over. They got the bullets out and replaced the blood you lost._

"Where'd they get it from?"

_For legal reasons I can't answer that._

"How am I doing?"

_Do you want the bad news or the good news first?_

"Bad."

_The bad news is you almost flat lined twice and you'll need to report everyday for a check up until you get better._

"What's the good?"

_You're going to be fine if you follow our advice._

"I almost died out there."

_You'll be more prepared next time._

"By the way, what happened back there? My armor turned red and tore a chunk of the gym out of the ground."

_I was confused about that too but the doctor said it was something they took from Gutsman. When you defeat robot masters Garret goes out to retrieve their hard drives and Doctor Light creates new weapons for you. That chip you had installed Gutsman's strength into your suit. You can call on that power all you want until it needs to charge back up._

"I think we need to make that suit stronger. His shots tore through like it was nothing."

_We'll worry about that after we get you stabilized._

I felt Rock's presence leave and I woke up immediately. I tried to get up but the doctor held me down.

"Not so fast; you're not well enough to leave just yet. We need to keep you overnight." He said

"I can't, my family's gonna worry." I said

My voice came out hoarse and the strain caused my chest to hurt. I was burning all over my body.

"You have a fever of 102, you have two bullet wounds in your stomach that have yet to close and your arm's broken. If I were to let roam around in this condition you could die."

I was too weak to fight off an old man. He laid me back down on the bed and covered me up. I felt like a child.

"Take this," Doctor light handed me a remote "You can call us if you need anything."

The doctor left me. I set the remote on a nightstand next to the bed. Even with the covers over me I was shivering.

"Rock?" I croaked out

There was nothing. He didn't respond to me? Rock wasn't there; where'd he go? I pressed the remote and heard a beeping upstairs. Garret came down after a few seconds.

"Where's Rock?" I asked

"He's getting maintenance. It would cause unnecessary strain if we did it while you two were connected. He's fine."

"Thanks."

He turned to leave but I stopped him.

"I need to tell you something," I grabbed his shoulder "the one who attacked me wasn't a robot master. It was too strong. He was human."

"What?" Garret looked shook up "You better not be kidding about something like this."

"I'm not; I shot him and I saw flesh under his helmet. He's like me."

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"Not much but a few things. He's really tall; I think a young adult. His name is Bass."

"Anything else?"

"He's Jamaican."

Garret grabbed my shoulders; his fingers digging into me.

"Ow, let go!"

"His accent describe it. Was it thick or light?"

"Light, light; you can barely notice!" I yelled

He let go leaving red marks on my shoulders.

"What the hell's your problem!"

"I'm, I'm sorry." He said

I wanted to berate him more but he turned away and left. Good, much less chance the asshole will kill me. I laid down and pulled the covers back over me. I laid there for at least half an hour. I ran my fingers across my stomach and felt the bullet holes.

They stung and made me wince. My heart started to race at the thought of how close I came to dying. I remembered the smell of blood and the feeling of it going in my nose. I gagged at the thought. I turned on my side and put the pillow on the side of my head. I wanted to sleep so badly.

I shut my eyes and saw Bass glaring at me. I felt him smiling and he said "Next time, I'll kill you."

I've had death threats before but 99% of them were bullshit. This guy was serious; he was gonna put a bullet in my head!

"Oh shit!" I thought

I felt pathetic as I curled up into the fetal position.

* * *

That buster of his actually packed a punch. I was in Wily's labs getting my face repaired. All the machinery had a sleek iPod design to it. Everything was advanced to ensure that Wily's robots were kept in perfect condition. A robot with arms took my helmet off and my dreadlocks fell to my shoulders.

The robot applied a cream to the burn on my face. Dr. Wily entered the room as the robot bandaged me up. His hair was gone in the middle and was only left on the sides. He had a long grey coat and walked with a cane.

"How are you feeling?" He asked his voice coming out a thick German accent

"My face hurts." I answered

"Anything to report?"

"I almost killed him but a crowd was building. I had to leave."

"Is he strong?"

"He has potential but he's reliant on Lights steroid. Without it he's weak."

"Much like you?" he said with a coy tone

I wanted to shoot him in the back of his balding head.

"Yes, sir." I said

"I'm thinking of sending out Iceman this time. What do you think?"

"Doctor, I can handle him!" I yelled

He slapped the side of my face with his cane. It stung but I didn't say a thing.

"You dare raise your voice at me!" He shouted

He called me something in his first language. I'd prefer not to say what it was but if you really want to know; let's just say that there isn't a word for black people in the German language that isn't racist.

"I'm sorry, doctor." I said

"That little pile of scrap beat you this time. I won't send you out until I give you your next upgrade. Iceman is going out next and that is final!"

"Yes, doctor." I said

Please review


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

It's Tuesday afternoon. I haven't seen Alex since yesterday when he punched me out. It hurt like hell when I woke up and I had a lump on the top of my head. I saw him rip that robot's arm off; how'd he do that? I'm going to Alex's house to see if he's there.

"I hope he's alright." I thought

It felt weird not having Alex walking next to me. It was really quiet without his complaining. We'd been walking home since we were younger. It was probably around 5th grade when we met. The both of us meeting was a little weird.

Alex was really quiet back in those days and would almost never talk; even if someone was speaking directly to him. Because of that people didn't like him and one day a friend of mine who I can't remember for the most part came up to me and told me to punch him. I didn't know him and didn't care so I did just that. During recess I walked up to him and punched straight on his forehead. I expected him to cry but instead he got back up brushed the dirt of himself and looked me dead in the eye.

I felt bad so I tried to say sorry but he had another idea. He kicked me right in the stomach. It caught me off guard and bent over and held my torso. He jumped onto my back and started choking me. We both got sent to the principal's office that day.

The Principal was off campus for a while so we both sat on the bench outside his office. It was dead silent for a few minutes until Alex started to speak and speak he did. The guy talked my ear off telling me how what I did was stupid, how I'm the biggest moron he's ever seen, etc. It was funny looking back on it. Whenever we tell this story to people we always crack up and people don't get it. It really doesn't seem that funny when you think about it but it always makes me smile.

"You better be okay." I said out loud

His house wasn't that far from school. I knocked at the door and Alex's mom answered the door. She had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. She was a little shorter than me. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. This can't be good.

"Hi Mrs. Spencer, is Alex home? He wasn't at school today."

I saw her wince at the mention of Alex's name.

"I'm sorry Andrew but he never came home yesterday," She started "The police did a check of the entire school and couldn't find him. I think whoever attacked the school took him with them."

Her eyes began to water. This is bad; I need to do something to help.

"Mrs. Spencer if it makes you feel any better Alex was going to help the other students. He knocked me out and put me in a janitor closet. He probably saved my life."

"That seems to be a trend with Alex lately."

"What do you mean?"

"During the previous attack on the city Alex rushed out of the house to help an man named Doctor Light."

"He did?"

"Yes, he came home looking like he was going to fall over any second."

"Do you have the doctor's number? I think he'd like to known about Alex."

"Sure let me get it."

She handed me the crumpled up paper. As I left I took out my cellphone and punched the number in. It rand twice before a woman's voice answered.

"Hello?" She asked

"Hello is this Doctor Light's home or office?" I asked

"Yes it is; I'll get him."

As she handed the phone away I heard a high pitch beeping in the background.

"Hello, this is doctor Light." He said

"Hello sir, I'm calling to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

"About what? Are you a telemarketer?"

"No, I'm a friend of Alex Spencer."

I heard his breathing hasten; was he nervous?

"He's gone missing and his mother thinks the group that attacked the school yesterday took him but I'm seeing if you know anything."

"I-I didn't know he went missing," He said "That's terrible; he was a big help around here. I can't get around as well as I used to and he comes by from time to time to check on me."

That damn beeping was still going on.

"What is that in the background?"

"Nothing, it's my…uh, fire alarm; it's been on the fritz today."

"Okay, tell me, how long has Alex been helping you."

"Um, a few days. Probably three."

The beeping continued in the background but this time there was a voice.

"Would someone help me down here?" The voice yelled "I feel like I'm in an oven!"

The voice came from a distance; I could barely hear it. It sounded familiar though.

"Who's that?" I asked

"It's my grandson!" He said quickly "He's been sick lately and he's staying with me."

The voice continued to rant and rave but it got louder.

"Goddamn it! I'm burning up over hear and you're talking on the phone? Help me!"

That was Alex! What the hell's going on?

"What's Alex doing there? You just said you didn't know where he was." I said

"Shit!" The doctor said

He hung up the phone.

"Damn it!" I yelled

This guy kidnapped Alex but what for? I need to get the police! I ran in the direction of the police station hoping that I wasn't too late.

* * *

I couldn't tell what was going on anymore. I was so hot. I need help.

"Would someone help me down here?" I yelled "I feel like I'm in an oven!"

I mashed the remote but nobody came down to help. I was close to crying. My painkillers had worn off and the wounds on my stomach were burning.

"You sons of bitches!" I shouted as the pain grew

I was crying a little now. I wanted to die; anything to relieve the pain. I grabbed my water glass on the table and tossed it in my face. It did nothing to help. I got up from my bed and fell to the floor. They floors linoleum was cold and felt like heaven on my burning body but I was still mad. I yelled out but my words came out slurred. I pulled myself up and staggered up the staircase. When I reached the top I saw Light talking on the phone.

"Goddamn it! I'm burning up over hear and you're talking on the phone? Help me!"

"Shit!" The doctor said hanging up the phone

"Listen to me you old bastard!" I grabbed his coat collar "You did this to me so I don't think it's too much to ask that you fucking help me!"

"Just calm down. Stress will only make your condition worse."

He pulled my hands of his collar.

"I'm in pain." I said trembling

He handed me a pill and I popped it into my mouth dry.

"Now go lie down."

I went back down the stairs to my bed. The pain killer hadn't kicked in yet and wasn't going to for a while. I thrashed back and forth in the bed as the bullet wounds throbbed and stung.

"Damn it all." I grunted

* * *

"Alex doesn't sound too well." Roll said

Roll was doing my maintenance. I was uploaded into the doctor's main computer and Roll was at the keyboard.

"He's screaming bloody murder down there." I said speaking through the computer's speakers

"How is he so far? You've spent a few days with him."

"He's really quiet in public. He's bookworm and sits by himself most of the time."

"He doesn't have any friends?"

"He has one that I know of named Andrew. Kid's a skyscraper and really hairy."

She laughed slightly.

"What about his family?"

"His dad's skinny as hell and twitchy. He mother on the other hand is fine!"

"I wouldn't say that around him if I were you."

"He already knows, it's hard to keep secrets from someone when you live in his head. It's especially bad when he tries to…I'm not going to say but he's beginning to miss his alone time if you catch my drift."

Roll burst out laughing.

"Ahem!"

Alex was standing in the doorway.

"Oops, awkward." I said

"What are you doing up?" Roll asked trying to change the subject

"I was going use the bathroom," He said "You guys are assholes."

"Sorry." We both said

He pulled up a chair and sat down next to us.

"You really should go back to sleep."

"I'm tired of being cooped up; I want to talk to someone." Alex said

"Alright then; I think we should take this time to get to know each other," Roll started "I get the feeling that we're going to work together for a long time. Let's start with you Alex."

"What?"

"Tell us about yourself."

"I'm a short, sixteen-year-old teenager who doesn't have many friends because most of the time they can't stand me."

"Why's that?"

"He's opinionated, pretentious and angry all the damn time." I said

"You're a dick." He said "Can I ask you guys some question? I don't like talking about myself."

"Okay, shoot." Roll said

"What's the story with you two?"

"What do you mean?" I asked

"How did you get built and how do you know the doctor, Roll?"

"We were both built by the doctor." I said

"Roll's a robot too?"

"Yes, I am. The doctor built me to help with Rock."

"You don't look like the rest. You look…amazing."

"Hey, that's my sister, back off!" I said

"After what you said about my mother we're even."

"Thank you for the compliment, Alex. I was built this way so I can go out in the open and interact with the world."

Alex couldn't stop staring in disbelief. I was a protective little brother and I didn't like him staring like that. It was nothing disrespectful but I didn't appreciate it.

"Wow, it's incredible." He said "Rock, didn't you say you used to have a body?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did you look human too?"

"Yes, but now it's gone."

"How did it get destroyed?"

"Wily's robots. This isn't the first time we've fought him. It was in a construction site a few years ago; it was little runt that he sent out to get supplies. The damn thing leads me under some girders that were being held in the air and shot them down. My body was crushed but they saved my brain."

"I'm sorry." He said

"It's all water under the bridge now."

The three of us spent a good while talking. We found out later that Alex actually had a decent sense of humor and got us cracking up more than a few times. He was good company. Roll seemed to like him but she likes mostly everybody. After our talk Roll put me back into Alex's head and sent him back down to his bad to rest.

I hope being down here will be easier for him now that he has someone to speak to. He fever spiked up and his painkiller wasn't working that well. The pill we gave him was very strong and it's too dangerous to give him another so we gave him a small dose of the steroid to help him. He laid in the bed thrashing around.

"Damn it!" He shouted "I need another!"

_I'm sorry but we can't._

He got out of bed and went up stairs. As he got to the top we heard a sound coming from outside the house. Police sirens? We were in the living room now and there was a loud knocking at our down.

"All of you come out with your hands up and release Alex Spencer!" An officer said

* * *

A crowd of cops broke down the doorway. They had guns with them. One of them seized me and took me out. The night air was freezing and I was out there in hospital scrubs. I was too confused and dizzy from my fever to fight back.

"Let go of me!" I said

I heard the doctor, Roll and Garret resisting. I looked back and saw Roll being put in a squad car.

_Roll!_

I sent my elbow into the cop that was restraining me and ran to Roll. I tackled the officer that held. He pulled out a can of mace and sprayed my eyes.

"Goddamn it!" I yelled rubbing my eyes

I heard somewhere that an ingredient in mace is also found in salsa. I believe it.

"Get him out of here; he's delirious." The officer said

One of them picked me up and escorted me to a squad car.

"Sorry he had to do that kid. Can you tell me your name?"

I recognized that voice. It was the cop I saved when I fought Gutsman!

"Alex Spencer, sir."

"Oh, crap. Hey Bill, you maced the kid we were sent to save, you asshole!" He said

"Are you serious? Damn it."

"I am Lieutenant Otto Miller. A friend of yours ran into our precinct saying that you'd been kidnapped. It looks like he was right."

I tried to say something but Rock cut me off.

_Alex, they're going in the house! The suit and drugs are in the house!_

"I'm really sorry for this." I said

"Huh?"

I punched the lieutenant in the face. I reached for his holster and took out his gun.

_Uh, clue me in on the plan, please?_

I ran back to the house and grabbed Dr. Light by his neck. I fired a shot into the air.

"Everyone stay the fuck away!" I shouted

I pulled the doctor in the house. I shut the door, locked it and pushed the couch against it.

"Alex, what are you doing?" Light asked

"Do you know how much of the crap in this house is illegal?" I said trying to whisper "You have a steroid you made in your basement, you've been endangering the life of a minor, and I don't know what you use to power that suit but it can't be legit. If you guys go to jail I can't fight these robot bastards. Here's what we're going to do; I'm gonna take the fall for this."

"What?"

_Are you stupid!_

"I knew you guys were gonna say that but I don't care. Listen, if you're the bad guy in all this you will go to jail for a very long time. If I'm the bad guy they're going to spend all their time trying to find me. Tell them any story you want but make me out to be scum!"

"How are they going to believe me?"

"Like this."

I pulled the trigger of the gun and shot the doctor in his left thigh. It only grazed him

"Damn it!" He yelled "What is your problem?"

"You old son of a bitch!" I yelled "What did I say would happen to you if you called the cops! I should kill your ass right now!"

_This isn't going to end well._

"I'm sorry; I'm really, really sorry." I whispered "Where's the suit, I need to get out."

"Down the hall to the right; climb out the window of that room when you're done."

I ran down the hall and found my suit in another one of those storage tubes. After I put it on I found spare vials of the steroid and another robot master microchip. I took them all and hoped out the window. The police were still trying the front door. I ran down an alleyway; I could fly away just yet or else I'll draw attention to myself.

I ran until the red and blue glow of the police cars couldn't be seen. It was then I kicked in my jets and flew high into the air. I perched myself on top of a skyscraper in the business district of Holiday Heights and waited.

_Alex, do you realize what you have just done?_

My heart was racing. I knew what I did.

_You're a fugitive now!_

"Alex Spencer is a fugitive," I said "Mega Man isn't and that all that matters right now."

_Alex…_

"I'll return after all this calms down."

_You won't be able to go home._

I took a deep breath.

"I know but I think I have a plan for that."

Please review.

**P.s. I'd like to take this time to give my good wishes to everyone in Japan and I hope you all do the same.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 12

Something was going on; most of Wily's machines have been inactive all day. What's he doing? I went to Wily's main warehouse where he stores the Robot Masters. He was there alright and so was Iceman; fully operational. Iceman was built for arctic exploration and mining.

He looked more human than the others. He had pure white hair; his armor had the style of a snow suit with a fur hood but was all steel. He was slightly shorter than me: he was skinny but muscular. He had a large pickaxe on his back as a weapon.

"Good to see you again, Bass." He said

I glared into his eyes; the sooner we get rid of Mega Man the sooner he goes back to sleep. I don't need his help.

"Still the silent type I see. Don't worry I'll be out of your hair soon enough."

Iceman's arm was opened up; exposing his circuits. The doctor was soldering something into him. He finished and closed the arm.

"Every time Mega Man is near Rock's energy signature appears." Wily began "With this tracer you'll be able to detect it from a ten mile radius."

"Thank you, doctor."

"Go out now and do a search. Bass wounded Mega Man last time and he's human; he'll still be recovering."

"Yes, sir."

He bowed before Wily and left. As he walked by I could feel the cold of his body. I clenched my fist. I wanted to kill Mega Man.

"Doctor!" Iceman called

"What?"

"I want Bass to come with me. One on one is too risky."

"Fine, I don't care."

As I walked up to Iceman he whispered something to me.

"You owe me one." He said

* * *

It's cold; way too cold. I was still sitting at the top of the skyscraper huddled up in a ball. The suit wasn't built for cold weather.

"This can't be good for my fever." I said

_Alex, do you know of any place you can go?_

"No place warm."

_Oh crap._

"What now?"

Rock didn't need to answer; white flakes began to blow in the wind. It picked up very fast and soon my suit was almost covered in it.

"I'm not gonna say."

_What?_

"I'm not gonna say it can't get any worse because then it will!"

I picked myself up and shook the snow away. My fever was spiking up again. This time it was unbearable. I tore my helmet off and began to shovel snow onto my face. It felt so good and gave my face painful frostbite at the same time.

* * *

Wily gave me jets of my own. I flew in the air next to Iceman. Iceman could create ice out of the moisture in the air with his hands and feet. He took a surfing stance as he slid on a platform of ice that formed as he moved forward and dissolved in the back.

"Anything on the tracer?" I asked

"Oh yeah; he's close."

He pulled his metal hood up around his head and a mask folded out from the sides. IT resembled a hockey mask but the holes were covered with a bulletproof material.

"How close?"

"He's on that building over there close."

Mega Man was right there. His helmet was off and he was putting snow on his head. I couldn't see his face or hair. I took out my rifle and aimed it at the back of his head.

"Take the shot if you have it." Iceman said

This was too easy; I nodded and pulled the trigger. One shot rang out.

* * *

I was piling snow on my head; so much that it looked like a snow helmet.

_Get down!_

I dropped to the floor and took a mouthful of snow. I heard something zip past my head. I looked back up and saw a small steaming hole in the snow pile in front of me. I scrambled up and put my helmet on. I looked around for my attacker.

* * *

"Nice shot, eagle eye." Ice ]man said

"Shut up!"

I shot three more times. Mega Man ran like a chicken with its head cut off to avoid them. He eventually slipped on the snow and fell. We landed on the building as Mega Man scraped the snow away. He looked right up at us; he was very still.

"This is Mega Man?" Iceman asked

"Yes."

"He's a kid."

"So?"

"He's a kid! He looks fourteen; you guys are seriously getting beat by this?"

Mega Man tried to run but Iceman grabbed him by his neck and took out his pickaxe.

* * *

"He's gonna kill us!" I thought

_Iceman and Bass have you outnumbered; you need to let me take over!_

"You can do that?"

_I can if you let me._

Iceman pulled his pickaxe back ready to strike.

"Do it, do it!"

My body moved on its own. My leg kicked Iceman square in the stomach. He stumbled back and let me go. Bass came at me but I hooked my arm around his neck put my hands up against his stomach and flipped him into the air. He fell on his back behind me. They both came at me from opposite sides but I jumped up and did a split kick in mid-air hitting them in their chests.

"Woah." Was all I could say

They continued to attack from opposite sides. Bass put me in a full nelson and Iceman came at me. I lifted both legs up and kicked him in the jaw. His hockey mask absorbed it for the most part but he was still knocked back. He lifted his pickaxe up and ran toward me. I turned my body as hard as I could and Bass took the attack. He screamed and let go off me.

"Bastard; you hit me!"

"You got in my way!"

"I'll handle him myself!"

He took a swipe at me with his sword. I bent myself backwards to evade to quick strike and started to strike Bass's torso. My hands were hitting seemingly random points on his body but he was getting stunned with every strike. I flattened both my hands and sent them into his chest. As he crouched down holding the pained area I crouched down and did a sweep kick at his feet. He fell with a yelp.

"Oh, shit," Iceman said laughing "This is getting interesting!"

I took a fighting stance and faced Iceman. He brought down his pickaxe. I caught it between my hands and sent it back. I kicked him in his side but he hooked his arm around my leg. I jumped up with the other leg and sent kicked the side of his head. We both fell to the floor but I flipped back upright.

_Impressed yet?_

"I feel dizzy." I said "How the hell did you do that? On second thought; questions later."

Bass jumped at me from behind. I turned as fast as I could and lifted my leg up. I kicked him in his side and sent him off the building.

* * *

I jumped at Mega Man but he did a spin kick and sent me tumbling off the roof. I hit my back on a flagpole that was sticking out of the side and tried use my jets. I was sent crashing into a neighboring building. I fell on to a couple of trashcan and became covered in garbage.

"How'd he get so good so fast?" I asked

My pride was bruised. Twice now I've gotten my ass handed to me by Mega Man. I can't wait until I can tear my blade through his innards. I will kill him if it's the last thing I do!

"This isn't over!"

I was about to fly back up but there was a ringing in my ear.

"What is it, doctor?" I asked

"I've been monitoring the fight; I want to see how this will play out. Leave and return to me."

"What? Doctor, I…"

"Silence! Come back to me."

"Why are you doing this?"

"There's no way you can beat him."

"What the hell do you mean!"

"There's no sense letting both of you get destroyed."

The doctor must think I'm weak, he won't let me fight. Goddamn you doctor, goddamn you to hell!

* * *

Iceman picked himself up. He was smiling and clapping.

"I like this!" He shouted "Let's break out the big guns!"

His body began to shake and rattle. I started to feel cold. Wow, really cold! He was glowing. He threw out his hand and a blue beam came out. I jumped off the building and fell back. The spot where I was at was covered in a giant chunk of ice the size of an SUV.

"Can your kung fu moves beat that?" I asked

_I'm not sure._

Iceman walked up to the edge of the building. He looked down at me with a smile.

"You think this is cool watch me make the statue of David!" He yelled down at me

"I'm more of a photography man!" I yelled back

"Your funny; I like that!"

He jumped off the building and aimed his ice beam down. He created a giant spiral slide and slid down with ease. He did a Spiderman hand sign and water sprayed on me and instantly froze, keeping me in place.

"Oh, damn it! You're in control here; why didn't you dodge that?" I asked

_How was I supposed to know he could do that?_

"He's Iceman! He can freeze stuff; it's pretty self-explanatory!"

The ice was too strong. It felt like steel around my body. Iceman walked up to me and set the tip of his pickaxe on the side of my head.

"Come on; I can't go out like this!" I thought "What can I…wait!"

As he pulled back his pickaxe my armor turned dark red and in one movement the ice broke like it was nothing. Iceman still swung but I bent over backwards to avoid it.

"Light out!" I shouted

I socked him straight in the face; breaking his mask. He skidded on the ground and tried to get back up. I kicked him in his stomach hard enough that he came up off the ground. I quickly linked my hands together and threw my fist down on his back. He lied limp on the ground. I repeatedly kicked him in his stomach.

"Do not fuck with me!" I said in between kicks

I turned him on his back. I was gonna finish him off. He held his hand up and a tube opened in the palm.

"What is…?"

A stream of snow rushed out of the tube. It propelled me through a convenience store window and buried me. I dug myself out of the pile of snow and glass and looked out the now broken window and Iceman was gone.

"Where's you go?" I shouted climbing out the window "Where's you go; Frosty the douche bag snowman!"

He was nowhere to be seen; he had retreated.

"Goddamn it!" I yelled

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

This was bullshit; complete and utter bullshit! I've been attacked by these bastards nearly every day. I can't catch a break; I'm barely able to stand up after all the stuff that's happened. I left the scene as the police arrived. I wasn't about to waste my time getting interrogated. I couldn't go anywhere so I just flew through the air.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked

_Okay._

"How did you do that back there? You fought both of them single handed."

_I have a few years of this under my belt._

"That's what I'm talking about; why do you need me if you can do that by yourself?"

_It's simple when you think about it; what am I?_

"Uh, an AI program?"

_Exactly and what can happen to programs?_

"I don't know what you're getting at."

_Programs can be hacked and altered, Alex. We can be changed and go against the people that created us._

"So Wily can hack you and turn you against us."

_Not anymore. That's where you come in; a human operator is ideal for our situation. Humans can't be hacked; their will is stronger than any program. You're my shield, Alex._

"I guess the same can be said of you too." I said

_Hm?_

"You protected me back there by helping me fight. You saved my ass."

I could feel Rock smiling.

_Thank you, Alex._

"I'm really tired."

_It's already one in the morning; I imagine so._

"I know where I can go, hold on."

I flew for around five minutes; a foul smell started to fill the air. It was rust. I was flying over an old scrap yard. I landed and started walking around.

_What are we doing here?_

"I figured I could sleep in one of these old cars for the night."

_Okay, but don't touch anything you don't need to; you might get tetanus._

I climbed into the backseat of an old piece of crap Honda and lied on my back.

"Good night." I said turning on my side

_Same._

Sleep came in a matter of minutes. I dreamt that night. The city was in ruins; buildings on fire, people were lying dead in the streets and I was in the middle of all of it. I was without my suit and tall shadowy figure loomed over me.

I ran for my life but they always got in my way. I tried to call for Rock but he wasn't there. I was truly alone. One of the figures walked toward me. As he got closer he got shorter and color began to form.

It was Bass with his glowing blade out. I pulled out a syringe of the steroid and injected it into myself. My right arm began to swell. It was around the size of a watermelon before it burst. Blood splattered on my face and I screamed.

My arm lay limp as I tried to rub the blood away. The more I rubbed the more of it appeared. Bass pushed me to the ground and lifted his blade into the air. He brought it down on my head and I woke up screaming.

_Alex, are you okay?_

I was sitting balled up; hugging my knees. I shook my head as an answer.

"This sucks!" I shouted

I kicked the door to the Honda open. I couldn't even sleep without being scared out of my mind. I hate this; I didn't want this. All I did was try to stop one robbery and this is the thanks I get? This isn't fair!

_Everything's going to be alright._

"Let me out."

_What?_

"Let me out of the suit, now."

The suit opened up and I fell out.

"I can send you into electronic objects can't I?"

_Yes._

"Can I put you in the suit?"

_I believe so, why?_

I put both hands on the sides of the suits head.

"I don't know how this works but go in."

I can't explain the science behind it but I felt Rock leave my head. It felt like when you spent a few hours laying down and you get up to fast. It was a lightheaded feeling. The suit began to move around on its own.

"What was the point of this?" Rock said from a speaker from the back of the suit's neck

"Teach me to fight."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm terrified over here. It's because I can't fight worth crap. Teach me to fight so I have a chance."

"Alex, if it bothers you that much I'll handle the fighting."

"No! That can't solve everything. What if some random bullshit happens and I'm all alone? I'd be shit out of luck!"

"Alright," He said "Come at me; let's see what you can do."

I put my fists up; I wasn't quite sure what to do. I've seen what he can do; how can I do anything against that. I ran at him and tried to punch him but he grabbed my arm, twisted it around my back pushed me forward a little then kicked me in my back. I was on the floor.

"Ow." I said

I pushed myself up and ran at him again. This time he went low and grabbed me around my waist he hoisted me onto his shoulder and then let me drop.

"I'm instantly regretting this."

"Fight me the way you fight, Alex. If you try to play my game you're going to get killed. This time I'll come at you and I want you to subdue me."

"Okay." I said getting up

He ran at me and I met him with a football tackle. My body wasn't built for stuff like that so it's obvious this is going to be a mismatch. He pushed me back with ease.

"You're doing it wrong; when you tackle someone you're supposed to push with your legs."

Put my legs into it and soon I stopped moving.

"There you go!" He said "Now grab at my legs."

I knew how to take this; I moved my hands down and hit Rock on the back of his knees. He slipped and fell to his hands and knees. I jumped on his back and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"See, simple things like that can help in a fight." He said getting up. "Another thing, don't be afraid to fight dirty; none of the robot masters feel like playing fair so why should you?"

He grabbed my face and held up two fingers. He placed them just below my eyes.

"The robot masters have faux latex like skin that looks real, is hard to break but is very slippery. What you can do is take your fingers and jab below their eyeballs. If you do it hard enough they should pop right out."

"Gross but good to know."

"The robot body is built just like the human body; we have joints and we have reflexes. If you strike us below the knees you can make us stumble and get some distance between you and your enemy."

I was hooked on every word Rock said. We spent a few hours teaching me exactly what to do in a fight and how to pull it off exactly. I wish it could have stayed that way but Rock thought I would benefit from outside experience. Rock wanted me to get in a real fight and use what he taught me. Not the best idea he's ever had.

I gave him my sweatshirt and pulled the hood over his head. I don't think people will react well to a walking metal suit. We made our way to downtown which easily had the highest crime rate. In Holiday Heights you couldn't have one day without crimes making their way to the paper. 90% of the time they were from the downtown area. The place stank and the building loomed over me.

I was reminded of my dream and those figures staring down at me. I felt like a little kid lost from his parents.

"Are you alright?" He asked

"Not really."

"Stay close."

He didn't need to tell me twice. I walked right next to him and maybe a little too close. My arm was brushing up against his.

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

"I had a nightmare when I was asleep."

"What about?"

"The city was wrecked to hell and I was alone. You weren't there; nobody was. I saw these huge shadows standing over me and staring down at me. I couldn't tell how many there were but I could tell they wanted to kill me. One of them walked toward me and turned into Bass. He killed me."

"Alex, it's just a dream."

"Not in my situation; there's a big chance that'll end up happening if I don't stop Wily. Why did it have to be me?" I said rubbing my forehead

"Beats the hell out of me; maybe it was divine intervention."

"I don't really believe in all that."

"That's fine but its weird; you're just a random kid and you turn out to be exactly what we need. Dr. Light went so far as to call it a Godsend."

"It seems like cruel dumb luck to me."

"Hard to argue with you there. Turn down this alley."

The shadows got darker in the alley. It made me feel even worse. At the end of the alley was a bright flood light over a basketball court. There was a lone person there playing by himself. He was a young adult in his early twenties I think. He was wearing a bright red wife beater and grey gym shorts. As we got closer to him I saw he was Hispanic.

"Yo!" Rock called

He turned to our direction and smiled. I'm guessing he and Rock were friends. I felt a little better knowing.

"Who's this?" He asked, his accent was subtle but there clear as day

"His name's Alex. I assume you've heard of the blue boy going around and kicking the robot masters around?"

"Oh, that's him is it? I was wondering if you would be seeing me."

"Rock, who is this guy?"

"Which name you want?" He asked

"Which?"

"I've got two. One you'll refer to me by as business but if I like you I'll tell you the other."

"You're not old enough to pull off that vague, mysterious mentor thing." I said

He smiled at me and said "I think I might like you sooner than I thought."

He held out his fist. I brought out mine and bumped it.

"My name's Blues; that's what my friends call me." He said

"And the other?"

"You'll see in a little bit. Now Rock; is this what I think it is?"

"Yes," Rock said "Alex is a little green and wants to learn to fight. I thought you could help us out."

"But of course; you'll just need to wait till 3 a.m."

He tossed Rock the ball and left. I'm so confused right now.

"What's going on and what happens at 3 a.m.?"

"We need to get you some fighting experience so we signed you up to fight."

"Wait; Blues runs a fight club?"

"Yep; it's the only way we can get a fight without beating on innocents."

"Oh crap. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"You would've said no."

I'm officially scared out of my mind. I've heard of these places; they're ruthless, dirty and smell of blood. There are always reports on TV about people almost dying from going to fight clubs. I'm gonna get my ass kicked and die on the floor!

* * *

My suit had been damaged in the fight with Mega Man so Wily was taking a look at it. I was in the gym in my boxers having a few rounds with the punching bag. I was furious with the doctor; he said I couldn't beat him. I don't understand; He was almost dead at the school but somehow he turned into fucking Bruce Lee and kicked my ass off a building! I gave the bag one more punch and it popped right off the chain.

"I'm going to kill that brat!" I yelled

"Not if I get him first." A coy voice said behind me

I didn't need to turn to know who it was. The room was getting really chilly; it was Iceman. He patted me on the back with his icy hand; I almost jumped at how cold it was.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked

Iceman was a little odd; he'd give you a hug and ask how your day was going just as soon as he'd freeze you. I always get on edge every time I get near him. He wrapped his arm around my neck.

"You took a nasty fall out there."

"I appreciate the concern but please leave."

"Don't get all hostile; I'm here to help."

"How can you help me?"

He got close to me; too close. He was right next to my ear. I was close to knocking him senseless but then he spoke.

"I know Mega Man's face." He whispered

"What?"

"I pretended to run so I could tail him. I followed him to some junkyard where he took off his helmet."

He pulled out a photograph that showed a teenager with shaggy black hair. He was wearing Mega Man's armor. I reached out to take it but Iceman pulled away.

"No snatching!" He said "What do you say?"

"P-please?"

He pulled out my hand and slapped the picture down onto my palm.

"And now?"

"Thank you."

"Good, see ya!" He said leaving

"What was the point of all that?" I asked "You practically just gave me this."

"Quite honestly I don't give a damn about Mega Man and about the please and thank you thing; just because you're dressed in all black and have the emo lone wolf thing going on doesn't mean you get to be rude." After that he left

I looked back at the photo; I was one step closer to finishing him off. Now I just needed to find him.

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	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 14

I sat against a wall for about half an hour scared out of my head. I didn't want to do this.

"You have fought robots the past few days; why are you worried?" Rock asked

"You aren't in my head anymore, you moron!" I said

Over the minutes we had been here people started to gather around the court. They were of all ages, ethnicities and sizes. I think the youngest person there was my age or older. It didn't look too bad right now. People were trash talking each other in a friendly nature; or so it looked. I felt a tad bit better but that feeling sank when Blues walked up to me.

"There are rules here." He began "You can't tell anyone about this, you can't fight with your shirt on, if it's your first night you must fight, only two people to a fight and the fight doesn't end until one of you gets knocked out or one of you says stop. Do you understand?"

I nodded sheepishly and Blues walked me over to the center of the court. I pulled my shirt off and tossed it over to Rock. My fight was against a big guy. He was fat and tall; his arms reminded me of tree trunks.

"Dear God, I'm going to die." I thought

I heard a bell ring and the sound of the crowd cheering; my instincts made me look in the direction of the sounds. That was a stupid thing to do because the big man came over and socked me in the stomach. I fell over gasping for the air that had been knocked out of me. He took both hands and slapped them against the sides of my head. I felt dizzy already. He gave me an uppercut to the chin and I fell on my back.

"That really hurt." I thought

He reached down to grab my neck. I grabbed his middle finger and pushed it back. I heard a pop sound but I don't think I broke it. He didn't yell or anything; he just used his other hand to punch me in the chest. He picked me up until I was sitting and started choking me.

I took a chance and punched him square in the groin. I coughed as air rushed into my lungs. As he was bent over, holding his crotch I jumped onto his and wrapped my arms around his neck as hard as I could. He made himself fall backwards so he landed on me. I squirmed out from under him and kicked him in side of his head.

I jumped onto his front and started punching as hard and fast as my body would let me. The fat man's nose started to bleed when he grabbed me with his thick arms and threw me off. My shirtless back scraped the ground and burned.

"Ow, ow, oh shit!" I yelled rubbing my back

He ran at me I jumped up and at the last second gave him a roundhouse kick to the face.

"Hey, that actually worked!" I thought

That managed to knock him back; I had to take this chance. I gave a swift kick to the crotch then, when he leaned over I brought both my hands down on the back of his head. His face hit the pavement with an audible smack. I sat on his back and pick his head up by his forehead. I punched the back of his head and made him hit the pavement again.

I felt him shift underneath me so I moved away. He managed to get up but only to his knees. I walked up to him cautiously and felt like throwing up when I saw his face. His lips were bloody and dripping down his chin.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked

"Huh?" I asked

"Come on finish me off."

The way he said it was so nonchalant. It's like he doesn't even care. I don't get it.

"Hurry up, other people want to fight." He said gesturing to the crowd "You're pretty good; is this the first time you've been to one of these things?"

"Yes." I said sheepishly

"Go ahead and finish. I won't hold a grudge."

In retrospect I wish what I chose wasn't so brutal. I lifted my leg up as far as it would go and brought it down on his forehead. He went down and stayed there until I heard the bell ring.

"We have a winner!" Blues said "Let's give a round of applause for our newest member, Alex!"

Applause roared around me; I couldn't hear myself think it was so loud. Blues led me away from the court as two guys picked up my opponent up to his feet. He seemed alright except for the excessive bleeding.

"You fell alright?" Blues asked

"Better than I thought I would."

"I've got a room around here where you can rest."

He led me to one of those old fashion cellar doors that are in the side of buildings. He opened it up and sent me down the stairs. He didn't go with me saying he had to start the next fight. The room was surprisingly well lit and the floors were polished hardwood. It was essentially a living room; it had a television, a couch and a fridge. I sat on the couch and kicked my feet up.

"Might as well enjoy this while I can." I said

* * *

"Hey, Rock?" Blues asked

"What?" I asked

"Tell me about Alex."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one where did you find him?"

"He helped Roll out of a robbery. He got knocked out by one of the thugs and she took him home to get him checked out."

"You haven't taught him much have you?"

"He knows basics but he's on his way."

It was quiet for a few seconds. I was hoping he wasn't going to ask anything else.

"Does he know about the others?"

Damn!

"N-no he doesn't." I admitted

"I'm surprised at you Rock. You never struck me as one to keep secrets like that."

"There was too much at risk. If I told him he would have been terrified."

"What, you think he doesn't to deserve to know about the others you dragged into this?" He said raising his voice

"I know but…"

* * *

I couldn't give less of a damn about Mega Man. I'll just let Bass handle him while I relax. I sat in Dr. Wily's lab with no one but my thoughts. I was rudely interrupted by Wily entering the room.

"Get off your ass!" He commanded

"Give me a good reason." I said

He smacked the side of my face with his cane. It didn't hurt but it did get my attention.

"What's this I hear of you know Mega Man's identity?"

"I've seen his face but that's it."

"You're lying; you know where he is."

"You're paranoid, doctor"

"You were always the most difficult to deal with but I have something to help with that."

Doctor Wily held up his cane and pulled at the tip off it. IT popped off and revealed a switch at the top.

"What's that for?"

He grinned showing his yellow teeth. I shouldn't have asked that. He flipped it and a buzzing sounded off in my head. It was accompanied by my vision going red and a pain in my head. I fell to the floor screaming.

"I had this installed in the smarter of you robots just in case you disobeyed me. Now, follow my orders!"

I rose to my feet against my will and spoke.

"Yes, Doctor."

"Find and kill Mega Man now!"

"Yes, sir."

* * *

We had left the fight club area a few minutes ago and were making our way back to the scrap yard. Rock was quiet most of the way but I didn't feel like playing psychiatrist tonight. I got back in the suit and climbed into the back of the Honda. I fell asleep in a few minutes. Luckily I wasn't plagued by nightmares for the rest of the night.

Hours past by and I felt more at peace than I have the entire week. I woke up for a few seconds and realized it was freezing cold. I looked out the car window and saw it was snowing again. IT was harder than last time. This was more like a blizzard. I tried to open the Honda door but the snow blocked it.

"Damn it." I said

I climbed out the car window and fell face first into the snow. The entire scrap yard was covered in a few feet of snow. I had a bad feeling in my gut about this.

_You don't think…_

"I do think and I think I'm right."

I ran out of the scrap yard and my fears were confirmed. The entire city was covered in snow and ice. The blizzard was loud and fierce. I couldn't see at all.

"How could we not notice this!" I yelled

_That's a good question. I'm sure it's obvious who's behind this._

"Iceman's got to be strong if he can do all this in a few hours. Where do you think he is?"

_My guess is somewhere high up but that doesn't narrow it down much since we're practically surrounded by skyscrapers._

"Okay."

I flew to the top of the nearest building. The blizzard made it impossible to see anything.

_Alex, I've read the temperature and it bad._

"How bad are we talking?"

_Its 10 degrees Fahrenheit and dropping. You need to keep moving or you'll freeze to death._

"Mega Man!" A voice bellowed

I looked around to find the voice. It sounded close but far away as well.

"Where are you?" I yelled

"The Iceman cometh!" He shouted

_Above you!_

Iceman was falling with his pickaxe drawn. I rolled out of the way as he landed. His body was enveloped in a blue aura. I felt as if I was going to freeze right there. I need to get away from this guy. I scrambled to my feet and started to run.

"Oh no you don't." He said

As he finished that sentence I heard ice crackling around my feet freezing them in place. I kicked in my jets and the ice broke. I didn't get the head start I wanted as Iceman was right on my trail. He used his hand to create a sheet of ice in the air. He slid on the ice to keep up with me.

He was right next to me before too long. He created a large chunk of ice with his free hand and threw it at me. I spun in the air to evade it and shot him with my buster. He created an ice shield but it wasn't needed; my shot went right past him. This weather was too bad to aim.

Ice gathered around his free hand and became a huge fist. He rammed into me and socked me straight in the face. I spun out of control for a second and ended up scraping against the side of a building. I recover and rammed back giving him a kick square to the jaw. That threw him off his balance and made him start falling. He created a long ice chain that wrapped around me waist; it started to pull me with him. I desperately tried to shoot him with my bust but I kept missing.

_Shoot the chain you dolt!_

"Oh, right!"

I shot at the chain as close to myself as I could without hurting myself and Iceman plummeted. He aimed his hands downward and fired his ice beams. He created a huge pillar of ice that broke his fall and raised him up to my level. I activated Gutsman's power and attempted to punch him.

He dropped low and tried to uppercut me. I turned my jets to his face kicked them into the highest speed. Fire came out of my feet and hit Iceman right in the face. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees while I was propelled away from him. I let out a spray of buster fire on him; it shattered his pillar and sent him straight to the ground. He collided with the ground with a loud metallic crash.

_That could've gone worse._

"Yeah…oh shit."

Iceman stood up and glared up at me. We were far away from each other but I could see that the bottom of his face had burned off revealing the machinery behind it. His left arm was hanging off his body by a few wires. His armor was falling off in scraps.

"Damn you!" He shouted

The aura around his body began to grow and become a deeper blue. Ice chunks began to form out of thin air and levitate around him. He pointed at me and the ice flew at me. They came too fast and pelted my body. I held my arms up to protect my head but the ice struck my stomach, chest legs and groin.

I'm just glad the suit took most of the impact. When it ended I swooped downward pointing my buster at Iceman. I was about to fire but a pillar of ice rose up from the snow below me and hit me dead on. I spun out of control and went crashing through the second floor window of a random building. I slowed my jets as my suit scraped against the linoleum floors. I stopped in the middle of the room.

"Oh god, that hurt." I groaned

I picked myself up and brushed the glass shards off my suit. I had dents all over me, the paint was scratched and a little bit of my torso armor was falling off.

"How bad is it?"

_Suit integrity has dropped to 72%. Your body isn't fairing well either. Your bullet wounds have opened back up and yours left ribs have a few hair line fractures. Nothing too serious but you'll be in danger if you get hit like that again._

"Just great."

Iceman jumped up through the broken window. Up close his melted face looked ever worse. His broken arm finally fell off after the wires supporting it snapped. The way his armor was broken off in random areas reminded me of a jigsaw puzzle.

_Alex, do you still have that chip that doctor Light had on his desk?_

"Yeah, but I don't know what it does." I thought

_Just try it. We're running out of options._

I snatched the chip from the storage compartment in my chest. Iceman started to run at me as I slid it into the slot on my back. My armor turned red and grey and I didn't know what to do next. Iceman wrapped his hand around my neck and held me up. I flailed my arm around and continually punch him in the face but he didn't budge.

My chest was starting to burn for oxygen and I did something desperate. I took both of my hands and grabbed Iceman's face. I placed my thumbs under his eye and pushing up. His robotic eyes slid out of their socket and I grabbed them by the wires. I pulled as hard as I could and managed to rip them off. He was shocked and let me go.

"Oh god!" He shouted covering his empty sockets.

I kicked Iceman in the stomach and he bent forward holding his pained area. I put my hands behind his head and pushed downward as I repeatedly hit his forehead with my knee. I stopped and let him fall to his knees. I aimed my buster at his head but something flashed across my visor's screen. It showed a little animated figure clapping his hands together and forming a sword between them.

_Huh, I guess Doctor Light gave us some instructions this time around._

I wanted to get this over with. I clapped my hands together once and they began to glow and shake but no weapon was appearing.

"Give me a sword or something!"

My hands flashed and a katana like sword appeared in my hands. I held it like a baseball bat and swung horizontally. I struck Iceman's neck with full force and it sliced clean. His head fell to the floor along with the rest of his body. I was breathing hard; I laid on my back and the sword disappeared.

"That was close." I said

_That went better than I thought it would._

I walked over to Iceman's body and picked his head up. I peeled off the rest of the fake skin. I was trying to find an opening on his head to get at his brain. If I had this kind of power on my side I'd have an easier time fighting these guys.

"Damn it, I can't get to it!"

_Let's take it to Light. It's been a few days so I think the police might be done questioning them._

"Good, maybe now I can sleep in a real bed. If I ever have to sleep in a Honda again it'll be too soon."

I tucked the head under my arm and flew out the window. The blizzard had stopped but it's going to be a while before all this ice and snow melts.

**Please Review**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 15

Another one of those damn robots attacked last night. He almost froze the entire city; the damage isn't going to stop there though. When the ice starts to melt the buildings that are frozen are going to get extensive water damage and hazardous mold. Numerous businesses will be out of commission for weeks. The temperature had gotten twenty below zero before Mega Man stopped him.

To be honest, that's the least of my problems. It's been a few days since my son Alex went missing. A little while ago we got a report from the police that he had been holding a family in hostage for a few days. It's bullshit and lies! Alex would never do something like that…would he?

I don't know really. It's been a while since he and I talked together; he's not a very open kid. I had begun to worry about him when I walked by his room and heard him talking to himself. Alex has done that before but not like this; it was almost like a conversation. I just hope he's okay.

My wife, Dahlia is taking this the hardest. She lies in our room and cries her eyes out every day. I need to go check on her now that I think about it. I leave the living room and go upstairs. Alex's room is at the far end of the hall; ours is the first on the right.

The door is cracked open and I step in. She's just laying there like she has the last few days. I sat next to her and tried to talk with her.

"How are you feeling today?" I asked

"A lot better than yesterday, thank goodness." She says

She lays her head on my lap and I stroke her long, brown hair.

"Everything's going to be okay. He's okay."

"I hope you're right, Leonard. I don't know how long I can take this." She starts to cry again

It hit me that I hadn't cried at all yet. I had to keep it down so I could focus on trying to find Alex myself. It's stupid to keep thing like that buried. I let the tears flow from my eyes and cried with her.

* * *

I didn't think things would get this bad. My best and only friend is on the run from the law and it's because I told the police. It's my fault he was out in the street during the blizzard…he could be dead. I stayed home from school today; there was too much going on for me to focus. I heard a knock at the door and got up to answer it.

"Who is it?" I said opening the door

"Hi." It was Molly

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I skipped to see if you were okay. I know the last few days have been rough for you."

"Oh, thanks. Come in."

I sat down in the living room's chair while she sat on the couch that was across from it.

"I wanted to tell you something that I think will make you feel better." She said

"Like what?"

"Do you remember the first robot attack?"

"Yeah, it happened at the mall. You were working when it happened, right?"

"Yes, and Alex was there too."

"Oh, really?"

"When the robot attacked I went to try to find him and when I got to the center of the mall I saw something."

She looked unsure if she should continue. Molly not really the nervous type; this doesn't bode well for what she has too say.

"Go ahead."

"I saw…I saw Alex fighting the robot."

"Excuse me?" I said

"He was fighting the robot."

I opened my mouth to say something but I didn't know what to say.

"I don't believe you." I said slowly "This Alex we're talking about."

"I know it's hard to believe but it's true. He was doing back flips, making dents in the thing, and jumping three feet in the air."

"Are you positive?"

"That's not the only thing. When the fight was over a van crashed through the front entrance and some big black guy and a skinny old man took him away. Then at the second attack I was on my way to work and I saw the same guy taking something from the robot's body."

"Okay, there's a connection. What are you getting at?"

"I think Alex is Mega Man!"

Silence.

"That doesn't even begin to make…wait, holy shit!"

"What, what's going?"

"Oh god, I'm stupid!" I said giving myself a face palm

"Why?"

"When there was a robot attack at school Alex managed to rip off on off one of the robot's arms. I don't know what those things are made off but it sure as hell isn't Styrofoam!"

"You actually believe me?"

I could only nod. I did feel a little better knowing he could protect himself but there were so many questions. How long had he been keeping this a secret, why didn't he tell anybody and most importantly; what can I do to help him?

* * *

The bleeding wasn't too bad so doctor Light was able to patch me up and the cracked rib wasn't bad. I was lying in the bed in the basement as the suit was being repaired.

"Hey, Rock?"

_What?_

"That Blues guy; is he a robot?"

_Um, well. He's a…how do I say this?_

"And how does he know you guys?"

"I can answer that." Garret said walking into the basement.

_Crap._

"What's wrong with you?"

Garret sat down on a chair by the bed and he looked like hell. There were bags underneath his eyes. He looked like he was going to fall over.

"Are you okay?" I asked

"Just ask your questions."

"Who is Blues?"

He let out a sigh and pushed his neck right and left making a crack sound.

"I assume Rock had told about how he lost his body?"

"Yeah, one of Wily's robots crushed it under some girders, right?"

"That was ten years ago. We didn't have the resources to build him another body so we went a different route. We began to look for human applicants. It took a few years but we found two."

"I thought you guys said I was the only one."

"We lied; simple as that. If we told you the stories behind these two you wouldn't go near us with a ten foot pole."

"What happened?"

"Let's start with Blues; he was 18 when we met him; I think he's 23 now. This was before we started using the steroid; we had created it but we were too afraid to use it. Blues had a suit somewhat like yours and he had a hero name as well. He called himself Protoman; fitting since he was the prototype. The suit went haywire in a training accident and he crashed into the side of a building. Rubble fell all over his body and rendered a lot of it useless."

"Holy shit; but I saw him; he was playing basketball."

"That's when doctor light used the last of his recourses to repair him. Blues is more than 50% percent machine. He's a cyborg."

"Oh my god." I said covering my mouth

"Both of his legs were too damaged and needed to be replaced. He lost the use of his penis and three feet of intestines. His left eye is robotic and needs to be hid with his sunglasses. "

What's worse than that?"

"Our first applicant was…a person I knew in my day to day life. This was two years before Blues. He was the first test subject for the steroid."

"But you just said you afraid to use it on Blues why did you test it on this guy first?"

"This young man was why we never used it on Blues."

_No, don't say it_.

I could feel Rock's pain; whatever happened to this guy must've been awful.

"His name was Michael. We gave him a dose and he seemed alright. As the days went on he complained about aches all over his body. The muscles on his body began to expand in random areas of his body. A muscle in his neck crushed the back of his skull and gave him swelling to the brain. He almost died and had severe brain damage. He was practically a vegetable. He couldn't eat, go outside, bathe or function normally anymore. A few months after that Dr. Wily received word of our efforts and planted a bomb in our car. Michael was killed in the explosion. He would've been 28 if he were alive today."

I was speechless; I felt awful that I ever complained about any of this. Blues and Michael had it worse than I ever did. I felt Rock crying on the inside.

"Puts things into perspective don't it." Garret said his voice straining

Even Garret was getting choked up? A tear slid down Garret's cheek.

"I'm so sorry." That was all I could say

Garret stood up and left the room. I rested my forehead on my hands; still dumbstruck. I felt awful for what happened to those two but I couldn't help but feel relieved it didn't happen to me.

_He's going easy on you._

"What do you mean?"

_Michael was Garret's son._

I began to rub my temples; I don't feel good at all.

_Don't beat yourself up about it. You didn't know; you didn't do anything, Alex. The best thing for us to do is to beat Wily. We need to get rid of him so no one else can get hurt._

"Alright but tell me one thing."

_What?_

"If you didn't want me to beat myself up about it then why did you tell me?" I said in an absolutely pitiful tone

* * *

"Damn it! Goddamn it!" Wily shouted at the top of his lungs

He had been on this tirade for about an hour now. He only has three robot masters now; he running out of options. If he would just send me I could handle this; I know I can beat him.

"What's our plan now, doctor?"

He hits me on the top of my head with his cane; good thing I had my helmet on.

"You smartass little bastard! Get out of my sight!" He yells striking my head again

I left the room after that. He's bad to be around all the time but when he gets like this there's no being in the same room as him. I took the photo out of my pocket and gave it another look. Dr. Wily hadn't found this yet; thank goodness. I had to find him, somehow.

"Damn it, forget the doctor. I'll get Mega Man's attention one way or the other." I said walking to the door

I walked out the door to the warehouse and flew off. I don't care if anyone sees; I'll find you, Mega Man!

* * *

Mega Man has crossed me for the last time. I refuse to let him win once more! I underestimated him too much and I've had to pay for it but no more!

"I'll send all three remaining robot master after him this time."

I ran to my master computer that controlled all of my machines.

"Rerouting all power to charging the robot masters!" I said typing

"Estimated charge time 00:30:00 and counting." The computer said

"Good." I said with a grin

**Please Review**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 16

I walked down the street in broad daylight. Iceman's ice still hung on the buildings as I walked by. The police and SWAT teams were sent in to clear the ice off the buildings. They hadn't scratched the surface yet. As I walked bystanders looked at my appearance with fear; I sent them glares to make them turn their heads.

"Someone get the police!" Someone called

I stood in place until a group of officers crowded around me. Their weapons were drawn and pointed at me.

"Come quietly or we will be forced to open fire." One of them said

I scanned the group of officers and saw one shaking in his boots. He'll do just fine. I used my speed to appear in front of him.

"Oh god!" He shouted

I sent my sword into the officer's stomach and the others opened fire on me. The bullets ricocheted off my body harmlessly. I clenched my right fist hard and a purple aura developed around it. I slammed my fist on the ground and sent out a massive shockwave. The police and civilians around me were tossed in the air along with broken concrete. The rest of the crowd was thrown into a panic and ran off in multiple directions.

"Now to wait for the press." I said sitting down on a pile of rubble

* * *

I was feeling really good today. My wounds had healed up, I was lounging on the couch and I had food in my stomach. Doctor light said I could raid the fridge for anything if I wanted as he made the new robot master chip. I switched on the TV and some political debate was on.

"Politics pisses me off." I said switching

It was now turned to a shopping channel. They were selling numerous electronic devices; mostly computers

"I've always wondered; is looking at electronics like porn for you guys?"

Rock burst out laughing and I followed.

_Oh yeah, look at the dual core processor on that one!_

"Shut up, man." I said laughing and trying to catch my breath

I switched once more and turned to the news. Ellen Stern was on again.

"Don't they have any other reporters on this network?"

_I don't mind really; at least she's not dumb as a post like the last one._

"Oh man, I forgot about her. I hated that damn woman's accent. What the hell was that anyway?"

_It was a northwestern accent I think but I barely noticed it. I just thought she was so stupid._

"No doubt about tha…what the hell?"

The news reporter caught my attention.

"This is Ellen Stern for the Holiday Heights news being held against my will by…could you say your name into the mic please sir?"

The cameraman turned to the side Bass revealed himself.

"What the hell?" I yelled

"Hello, Ellen; my name is Bass."

"Would you enlighten us as to what you're doing?"

"Of course; I'm holding this section of the city hostage. May I hold your mic for a second?"

"Sure," Ellen said handing it over

"Mega Man, I'm tired of waiting; if you don't come fight me I'll kill everyone in this city!"

The camera switched off and went to a static screen.

_I'm getting tired of this guy._

"Can't a guy get a day to himself?" I said getting up from the couch

I ran down the hall to doctor Light's room. The suit was there being worked on by the doctor.

"Is the suit ready?" I asked

"What's going on now?"

"Bass is wrecking the city. I need to go now!"

"Okay, the suit wasn't fully repaired but is at 93% integrity. I've installed a communication device in the helmet; I've made the new robot master chip and have already put it in the suit. Everything is in order to go."

"Thank you." I said suiting up

I turned to leave but Light grabbed my shoulder.

"Hold on; during your earlier fights I was working on another form of transportation to save on fuel for your jets."

"What is it?"

"I have created a teleporter for you. Come with me."

I followed him down to the backyard and the storage tube opened up.

"This thing was supposed to teleport you as soon as you suited up but the machinery hadn't been completed yet. All you need to do now is walk in and I'll use the terminal on the outside to transport you to where Bass is."

"Will this turn me inside out?" I asked

"No."

"Okay, let's do this."

I stepped into the tube and it closed behind me. Dr. Light began to type on the terminal and the inside of the tube started to glow bright. I started to get that feeling you get when you've been laying down and you get up too fast. I felt a tingling all over my arms. Then there was a moment barely half a second of pure silence.

Everything just stopped in my body and went black. Just then as soon as the moment came it went away. I was in the middle of the street shaking.

"Oh god." I said falling to my hands and knees

I threw up right there and was still shaking.

_I don't feel too good either._

"You're not allowed to throw up while you're in there!" I said getting up "I hope I never have to do that again."

"Alex, can you read me?" The doctor asked through the transceiver

"Yeah, I can. Listen, you need to fix that thing; I feel awful."

"Alex, Bass is almost on top of you, be alert."

_He's to your left; past that alley._

I braced myself against the wall and inched myself down the alley. I peered down the street and Bass was there with police surrounding him. Ellen Stern and her cameraman were there as well. The cameraman was on his knees with Bass pointing his rifle to the side of the man's head.

"Release the hostage!" A negotiator said through a bullhorn

"Not until Mega Man gets here!" Bass shouted back

I crept away from the alley and walked up to the negotiator.

"Excuse me, sir?" I asked

"Go away kid, this is dangerous. Lieutenant, take him away." He said without looking at me

"Sir, I don't think that's such a good idea." The officer said

"Why the hell not?" The negotiator turned to me "Oh, that's why."

All eyes were on me now.

"Hi," I said "I got here as fast as I could."

"So you're Mega Man, exactly how old are you?"

"I believe that's my business, sir."

I looked past the man and saw Bass giving me a glare; I gave one right back.

"How many officers do you have in the perimeter?" I asked

"Around thirty, why?"

"Any snipers?"

"Four of them."

"That armor of his is too strong for your bullets and last time he was too much for me. I'll try to get some of his armor off and hold him still for the snipers. I'm counting on you guys to watch my back while I try to get and opening for you."

"Hey, I'm giving the orders…"

"Yes, Mega Man, sir!" The officers said in unison

"Damn it, fine. We'll go with your idea."

I walked past the group of officers and could feel Bass' glare on me. I was a few feet from him when I stopped in my tracks.

"Bass," I called "Let them go!"

He looked to his both his captives and then to me. Bass swatted the camera man on the back of his head with his rifle.

"Turn on your camera, now."

He obeyed and pointed it at me.

"This better not be what I think it is." I said

"Take off your helmet and say your name to the camera." He said

"What? Hell no!"

He placed the barrel of the rifle on the cameraman's head.

"What was that?" Bass asked

"Shit." I said under my breath

_Alex, what are we going to do?_

"Is the hero shy?" Bass mocked "I'll take off mine."

This was the perfect opportunity for the snipers. I reluctantly reached behind my head, as did Bass. He slipped his off quickly and dropped it to the floor. He was a young African American man with dreads that reached his shoulders. His eyes were green and still in a glare.

_Oh, dear god._

* * *

The police chief pulled up his walkie talkie and spoke into it.

"Snipers, take the shot!" he said

No gunshots went off in the area. It was all silence.

"Is anyone there? Take the shot; he's exposed!"

A voice came out of the walkie talkie.

"Sorry chief but we sent your friends on a long coffee break!" A deep voice said "Now, get ready to get fired up!"

"Who the hell's there?"

There was no answer.

* * *

Why weren't they firing; what's wrong?

"I'm waiting." Bass said

My fingers slipped underneath my helmet. They trembled and refused to move any further. Everyone's going to know if I go through with this. Mom and dad are going to be scared out of their minds and Andrew and Molly will be too. If I don't take off my helmet that guy dies; I can't have that on my conscience but if I take it off It'll be easier for Wily to find me and my family.

"What do I do?" I yelled in my head

"Do you want this man to die?" Bass shouted

He put his finger around the trigger and I did what I had to.

"I'll do it!" I shouted

I gripped my helmet and pulled up; it was pulled halfway when…

_Alex, get out of the way!_

It all happened so fast but seemed like it was in slow motion. I heard a loud crackling noise above me. I looked up and saw a bolt of lightning coming right for me. I back flipped out of the way and pushed my helmet back down without exposing my face. The bolt hit the ground and made a crater.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked

_Alex, three robot masters are in the area!_

"Three?"

* * *

Those bastards are ruining everything! I picked my helmet up and put it back on. I looked around at the building tops to see if they were there. I can't believe I couldn't sense them!

"Where are you!" I shouted

In my rage I forgot about my hostages. They ran away when they got a chance. I felt a presence behind me and blindly shot.

"Bass, what the hell are you pulling?" Mega Man asked

"I'm not doing anything, you idiot!"

* * *

I sat at my computer monitoring Alex. There was some loud crash and now the only thing I could hear was static.

"Alex," I said "give me a status update; what's going on?"

"The...ing…t…..me." Barely anything he said came through

"Damn."

I wish I could do something; anything to help. I tried shouting into the mic to get any kind of response but whatever that crash was damaged the mic and it couldn't pick up anymore sound from Alex's end.

"Answer me!"

I slammed my fists on my desk. It was then I heard a faint knocking coming from above me. It was coming from the attic. This happens occasionally but it always a small animal or rodent but the footfalls I was hearing were far too large. It was without a doubt a man or woman making that noise.

Garret and Roll aren't in the house so who could it be? I got up from my chair and went into the hallway where there was a pull down ladder in the ceiling. I climbed up it and heard whoever was in the attic making even more noise. This time I heard a metallic scraping sound and suddenly nothing. I looked around the attic and a tarp was on the floor.

My stomach sank and I ran to the back of the attic. There was a storage tube in the back; much like the one Alex's suit was stored in. It had stayed up here for year with that tarp on it. Now it was open and what was inside is gone. The window of the attic was open and a breeze came in.

"I hope you know what you're doing." I said glaring at the window

* * *

Bass kept on looking for something. He was looking even more mad than usual. I raised my buster to take advantage of him not paying attention to me but another bolt of lightning came down from the sky. I jumped out of the way just in time and escaped unscathed.

"What the hell keeps doing that?" I shouted

_It's Elecman, you need to be cautious; he's one of the stronger robot masters._

"What didn't you say that that earlier!"

_You were too busy yelling!_

I heard a whooshing sound behind me and something hit the back of my head. I fell on my stomach but flipped onto my back as fast as I could and let of a buster shot. Whatever was behind me was gone and the shot flew into the sky.

"Stop hiding!" I said getting up

"As you wish." A voice said

Out of nowhere he appeared in front of me. He was tall, at the very least 7 feet. He was muscular but thin. He wore loose camouflage pants and black boots on his lower half. He wore a thick black hooded sweatshirt; it looked relatively normal except for the two glowing yellow orbs on his shoulders.

He wore his hood up but I could see his face clear as day; he was very pale. Standing this close to him I felt this tingling sensation on my skin. The electricity radiating off his body began to prick my skin.

_That's him alright._

"Long time no see; Rock," Elecman said "you've seen better days."

_Up yours!_

He knelt down and we were at eye level.

"Your new body isn't very impressive; it's scrawny."

"You look like a Hollywood Undead reject." I managed to say

"Hm, funny."

He turned around and looked over at Bass.

"You want to help me out here? I don't want this to take too long." He called

"You bastard," Bass said "Leave now!"

"Looks like I got my answer."

Without any warning Elecman spun around and sent his elbow into the side of my face; I was flung into the side of a car. I made a large dent and the alarm sounded off.

"Oh shit!" I yelled holding my face

"Elec Beam!" He shouted

My jets sent me up as Elecman shot the car making it explodeee. My jets shut off and I fell to Elecman. I tried to land on him feet first but he grabbed my legs and hung me upside down. The orbs on his shoulders started to spark and crackle; a shock was then sent through my body. It felt like when you're a kid and you accidentally put your finger in a power outlet but a whole lot worse.

"I'm make quick work of you." He said

I thought I was going to die but out of nowhere an energy shot came from above and struck Elecman in the head. He released me and we both fell to the ground.

"Where'd that come from?" Elecman yelled holding his face

I looked where the shot came from and saw something bright red on the roof of one of the buildings. It was someone I hadn't seen before; he looked human-like. His armor was similar to mine except being red and the visor being black. It kind of looked like sunglasses…wait, sunglasses?

_Blues!_

"When did he get that suit?" I asked

Blues jumped down from the building and landed facing Elecman.

"I'll take care of him." He said

I opened my mouth to say something but I was grabbed by my shoulders and thrown off to the side. The person who grabbed me was around the same height as Elecman but a bit bulkier. He wore a red zip up vest with a block pattern on it. He wore a pair of faded blue jeans that had holes in the knees. His hair was a blazing red Mohawk.

His face was a little hard to look at as it wasn't finished. Half of it looked normal while the other half was exposed machinery. He put Blues in a full nelson.

"Bombman, hold that guy still." Elecman said picking himself up

I used one of my three steroid shots and sent a kick into Bombman's back.

"Let go!" I said

Bombman stumbled forward and that gave Blues enough room to escape. He used a buster of his own and shot him in the stomach.

"Looks like we're even." Blues said next to me

I took out my buster while he raised his arm and a shield folded out.

"Why didn't he give me a shield?" I asked

_We'll take that up with him later, Alex, focus!_

Elecman sent a bolt of electricity into the air. It arched downward but Blues raised his shield up and it expanded covering us both. The lightning struck and Blues flinched but now of us were hurt. I took my opportunity and shot at Elecman. He jumped out of the way without getting hit once.

Bombman held his hands up and one of those old cartoony bombs appeared. IT was a big black ball with a lit fuse. He tossed it at us and it landed just in front of our feet. We turned tail and ran away from it. We got an okay distance away but the explosion still threw me into the air and into a dumpster. Blues was luckier than I was though.

"You okay?" He asked

"There's a banana peel in my helmet." I said pulling myself out

Bombman came from the cut and tackled Blues. I aim my buster at the back of Bombman's head but Elecman kicked me in the back. I fell and hit my head on the dumpster. He grabbed my head and repeatedly smashed my face into the side of the metal bin. My helmet protected me but I still felt the dull thud on my head.

I put my buster against his chest and let out a single shot. He was sent flying back. He landed crouching down and threw both hands forward. An elec beam fired from his hands. I flattened myself down on my stomach and used my buster to shoot at his feet.

He lost his balance and fell to the ground sending the beam in all other direction. The beam cut into nearby building and sent rubble to the ground. A few bricks actually hit me. He got back up and created to balls of electricity that covered his hands. He lobbed them at me.

I scrambled up to my feet and ran like a mad man. Every time one of the orbs hit the ground it let out a loud crackling noise and blew up. As he was about to throw the next ball I aimed my buster at his hand and let out a charge shot. I hit my target dead on and ran right at Elecman. I tackled him but he didn't budge.

The orbs on his shoulders began to glow and let out a huge flash. My entire body was hit with a huge shock and was thrown back. As I lay on my back he came over and tried to stomp on my chest. I grabbed his foot and twisted it making him lose balance and fall. I used Cutman's power to create an axe and swung it down at his head.

He grabbed it and sent an electric current through it. There was no rubber grip on the axe so the shock went straight to my body. That made me drop my axe and Elecman snapped it in half. He tried to kick the side of my head but I ducked down. After he missed I used Gutsman's power and gave Elecman a right hook to the face and then a left.

I kicked him in his stomach to put him on is back. I didn't waste any time and plunged both my arms into the road pavement and ripped out a huge chunk of it. I slammed it down on Elecman and heard him yell out in pain. I raised it back up and hit him with it over and over again. I threw it down one last time and held it there.

"Crap." I said sitting down

_That went better than I thought it would._

"One down, two to go." I said

Please review


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 17

I watched the whole thing as Mega Man managed to defeat Elecman. He had crushed him underneath a large chunk of road pavement. He sat down with his back against the boulder. You could not believe the anger I felt right now; I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill Mega Man on my own!

"Bastards…all of you are bastards!" I shouted

I couldn't think straight I charged head on at Mega Man.

* * *

It was hard to ignore Bass shouting at the top of his lungs. I turned to my side and he was running straight for me. I held out my buster hand but instead tried to see what Iceman's power was.

"Uh, ice beam or whatever it is." I commanded

My buster came out but shot out a blue beam. It hit the pavement and created a smooth plane of ice. Bass stepped on the ice but slipped and fell on his face.

"Hm, you think I should start giving name to my weapons?" I asked

_That would make things a lot easier._

Bass pushed himself up and took out his sword. He lunged at me with the intents to skewer me on that thing. I jumped up and narrowly escaped the slash.

"Guts Arm!"

I now felt Gutsman's strength in me; I grabbed the sword and snapped it in two then gave Bass a swift kick to the jaw. Then I did a sweep kick around his legs and tripped him. When he fell on the floor I jumped into the air trying to stomp on him. He rolled out of the way but I got him with a buster shot instead. He took out his rifle but I grabbed the barrel and twisted it back.

"I wish I did all this the last time." I said

I kicked him while he was down and when he tried to get up I kicked him again. I was sick of this asshole!

_Alex!_

"What?"

_Stop for a second!_

"For what?" I asked while still kicking

_Pull off his helmet._

I did as he instructed. Bass didn't resist because he just laid there unconscious. He still looked the same aside from a nasty nosebleed.

_I can't believe this._

"I'd love to be in the loop right now."

_Alex, meet Michael._

* * *

Bombman tackled me and carried me a few feet. I guess he and Elecman were going the old divide and conquer route. I hope Alex can handle that guy. He threw me to the floor and tried to stomp on me. I held my shield up and pushed his leg back.

As I blocked his foot I aimed my buster down and shot Bombman's ankle. When he fell to his knees I sent both feet upward and kicked him square in the jaw. I got back up before he recovered and slammed my shield into his face. His hands moved to guard his face so I kicked him in the stomach. When his hands moved again I placed my hands behind his head and pushed down while bringing my knee up to his face.

I heard and felt the crunch of machinery. Bombman gave me kick to the face and tossed a small bomb into my hands. The fuse was short so it blew up immediately. The sound was so loud; I couldn't hear anything afterwards. I was thrown back by the explosion and skid on the pavement.

My visor gave out my status and said my suits integrity had dropped a whole 23% from that explosion alone. This suit was a prototype of Alex's suit so it wasn't as strong. My buster only had ten shots in it and two of them are gone but I have two things Alex doesn't. I brought my shield in front and took a fighting stance. I held out my buster arm and the barrel shifted into a more narrow shape. A red two foot long energy blade formed.

"It's not smart to bring a sword to a bomb fight." He said

Bombman's voice sounded very robotic. We're talking Microsoft Sam territory over here.

"Wily's had you guys for years and he still hasn't finished you?" I said "He must be one lazy cabrón."

"Don't speak that way about the doctor!" He shouted

As he ran at me I put up my shield and he started to wail on it. The force of his punches pushed me to my knees. I used my blade and sliced at Bombman's leg. It sliced clean off and he fell down. I jumped onto his stomach and plunged my sword into his neck. His head came clean off.

"Well, that was quick." I said admittedly dumbstruck

I withdrew my sword and stepped off the body. As I did I heard beeping in the air. It was coming from Bombman. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.

"Oh shit!"

I tried to running but I wasn't fast enough and the body exploded. I was caught point blank in the explosion. My ears began to ring, I felt my face and eyes burn and was flung back with amazing force. I felt myself fall and scrape against the ground but heard nothing. I screamed as loud as I could but didn't hear it.

I tried to push myself up but couldn't feel my legs. I looked down and my robotic legs had been blown off.

"I have no legs…again!" I let myself fall to the ground.

* * *

I stood there with my buster pointed at Bass' head. I could take care of him right now and Garret wouldn't have to know. My buster started to charge and as it reached its peak…I just stood there. Why was I waiting? What am I waiting for?

_Alex, are you waiting for me to stop you?_

I didn't know what to say.

_Don't wait for me. I don't know what's best either._

I wish someone could tell me what to do right now. Someone to give me a little advice. I always knew I'd have to fight Bass but I never thought about it until now. He's human just like me. He's not like a robot that can be rebuilt, if he dies he gone for good.

My buster charge died down and I sat on the ground with my back against the boulder of street pavement. I couldn't do it.

"Aw, isn't that nice?" A voice said

The voice came from the other side of the boulder. I sat in place afraid to move.

"The hero doesn't want to finish the job against another human. Is it because you don't want to sink down to our level?" He asked

_There's only one Robot Master we haven't seen yet. This is Fireman._

"You're perfectly fine with killing off the robots but not one of your fellow meatbags. Pardon me but this sounds a little hypocritical."

He walked from behind the boulder and come in to view. He's tall like the rest of them but instead of looking young like the rest he looked like a middle aged man. He was thin but muscular looking. His hair was black like mine but really unkempt and looked kind of greasy somehow. He was dressed in what looked kind of like a fireman's suit with but without the glowing strips and the helmet.

His right arm was an exposed flamethrower. He had this crazed look in his eyes. This guy was who you thought of when you heard the word pyromaniac. He moved until he was in front of me and looking down.

"So you're the fucker that's been screwing with us." Fireman said

I'm a little too scared to talk. This guy looked like he could snap at any second.

"You've killed them, all of them you son of a bitch!" He yelled at me

_I'm not the only one who's scared right now, am I?_

"I'm there with you." I thought

"I'll admit we're all a little fucked up but I always thought of them as family. Do you have anything to say about this?"

"Wait, what?" I asked

"I said…"

"No," I interrupted "I heard what you said but…are you guilt tripping me?"

I stood up before he could answer and pushed him to the ground

"Fuck you!" I shouted

_Alex, be careful!_

"In the last few weeks I've been beaten, experimented on with steroids, almost bled to death after getting shot, almost choked on said blood, become a fugitive, been thrown into multiple buildings, made my family and friends nervous wrecks and on top of all that had to fight robots that throw scissors, ice, lighting and other bullshit at me and you're guilt tripping me?" I was breathing heavily and clenching my fist and teeth

Fireman just sat there dumbfounded.

"Here's how this is going to go: You're gonna get off your ass and fight me and then you're gonna lose. I going to turn you into scrap just like the rest of them, do you understand, you flaming motherfucker!"

I can't remember the last time I talked to someone like that. It was at that moment I noticed something inside. I wasn't afraid anymore. All the fear I felt for these guys was gone. A smile crept across my face. It wasn't anything sadistic or creepy though.

"You're the last one. The last one and then Wily's got nothing left and I'll be damned if I die this close to beating him. Rock and I are going to give you a fight won't soon forget!"

_Oh, hell yeah!_

Fireman got back up and aimed his flamethrower at me. I imagine he's pretty pissed.

"You're a cocky little bastard." He said

"Rock, let's make this one count!" I said charging at Fireman

**Please Review.**

**I know it's a little shorter than the rest but it does the job. I've been swamped with a few things lately. I graduated from High school on May 21****st**** and immediately went on vacation with the family. Now I've got a few months to work on this until college!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

**Before we get started with this I wanted to say that I've been thinking of doing a live show on JTV. Maybe talk to a few of you guys? Could you guys tell me if that's something you'd watch?**

Fireman shot his flamethrower as I charged. I rolled to the side and fired a charge shot. The shot hit him dead on but he didn't flinch. It didn't even leave a scratch. He fired his weapon and I crossed my arms in front of my face to block the fire stream.

I could feel the heat through my armor. I sent my leg into Fireman's stomach and when he hunched over I activated Guts Arm and lifted him up by his legs. I began to slam him into the ground like a ragdoll. He shot out a fireball that hit me directly in the face. My visor and mouth guard protected me for the most part but I was so startled I let go of him.

He tried to get as many hits off as he could. He repeatedly punched my face and stomach. His last punch knocked me back enough to let me give him a roundhouse kick to the face. I picked him up by his waist and tossed him into the air with my Guts Arm. He flew a good ten feet in the air and as he was landing I gave him one charge shot to the stomach.

I plunged my hands into the ground and pulled up to giant chunk of street pavement. I hoisted them high up and brought them down on Fireman. He turned his flamethrower on me and shot the boulders. The flame came out white hot and melted them. I tried to toss them away but some of the molten rock got into my suit's gloves.

It was the strongest most painful burning you could ever imagine. I yanked off my glove and tried to get the burning rock off of me. I got it off but it took part of my hand with it. There was a hole in my hand and I could see the muscle and bone of the back of my hand.

"Oh shit!" I said

_Put the glove back on! Don't expose that until you get to a hostpital._

"I'll do the same to the rest of you!" Fireman shouted

I ducked below his fire stream. I felt it close to the back of my neck. I took out the Ice Beam and shot at Fireman's legs. His entire lower half was incased in ice. He aimed his flamethrower at himself to melt the ice but I grabbed it and pointed it to the sky.

I repeatedly punched him in his face and neck. He started to do the same and it boiled down to us taking turns hitting each other. I placed my hand behind his head and pulled him towards me. I slammed my forehead right into his. I jumped back screaming and holding my head.

"Ow, ow, oh shit!" I shouted

_At what point is it smart to headbutt a robot? They're metal you idiot, you're flesh!_

"Sorry, I was caught up in the moment." I said

Fireman had melted the ice in my moment of not paying attention. He took aim at me and fired. In reflex I use the Ice Beam to counter it. The two attacks cancelled each other out. The stalemate didn't last long.

Fireman moved out of the way and withdrew his weapon. I kept my ice beam fixed on him ready to fire. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself.

_Stay alert._

"Brilliant strategy, Patton." I said rolling my eyes

_Bite me._

He began to breathe heavily and it quickly turned to groaning and yelling.

_What the hell is he doing?_

"I don't know but I don't like it."

I was afraid of what new trick he would pull out so I fired my Ice beam. The beam melted before it could touch him. I switched to my buster and showered him with shots. His body burst into flames as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"If it hurts that much you probably shouldn't do it." I said

I can't figure this next part out. His body seemed to disappear and become a steady stream of fire. It came right at me. I jumped into the air and shot down at him. My shot hit the fire and Fireman came into view again.

My shot had struck him straight in the back and sent him to the floor. I landed on him next and started jumping on his back.

"I hope this hurts!" I yelled

Fireman rolled out of the way of me and shot his flamethrower. The flames splashed against my visor and mouth guard. The flames had started to darken the visor and my mouth guard was burning me. It was too much; I yanked my mouth guard off exposing the burnt flesh. Fireman used his free arm to sock me straight in the mouth.

I fell on my back heard a ringing in my head. Fireman stood over me aiming his flamethrower at me. I panicked and activated Cutman's power. This time text appeared on my visor along with the instructional animation. It said "Cut Arsenal."

"Cut Arsenal, sword or something!" I yelled

A katana sword appeared in my hands and I acted on impulse. I plunged the sword into Fireman's crotch.

_Oh dear god, it went all the way to the handle._

Fireman jumped back and fell on the floor screaming. He sounded manic.

_That's gonna take a while to fix._

"I didn't know it would hurt that bad. I didn't think robots had anything down there."

_It's a two and a half foot sword, it's gonna hurt._

"You son of a bitch!" He shouted

I grabbed the sword handle and yanked it out of him. That got one more blood curdling scream out of him. It was them a noticed a strange smell in the air. It was on my sword…lighter fluid?

_You hit his fuel tanks, he can't create anymore fire._

"That was nothing but dumb luck." Fireman groaned

He was curled up holding his wound. He looked like a wounded animal. The sword disappeared. I pointed my buster at his head.

* * *

While Alex and Rock were dealing with Fireman an audience was growing in the alleyways. Ellen Stern and her cameraman were recording the fight.

"This is a terrible idea," The cameraman said "What if we get caught in the crossfire?"

"Keep the camera steady! I know it's risky but we need to get the story." Ellen Said

"This story isn't worth me getting shot in the head!"

"Keep the camera steady!"

* * *

Alex and Molly were watching the report from Molly's home. They both were on the edge of their seats. They were afraid for their friend.

"Please be careful, man." Andrew said

"He's going to be okay." Molly said placing her hand on his shoulder

* * *

Alex's parents were watching as well not knowing the danger their son was in.

"Why aren't the police stepping in?" Dahlia asked "That Mega Man boy is just a kid and the police are just letting risk his life like this?"

"I think the better question is where are this kid's parents at?" Leonard asked

* * *

I pushed myself up off the ground. Mega Man didn't kill me? Where's my helmet? I scooped my helmet off the ground and placed it back on my head.

"I'm tired of this bullshit." I said to myself

I saw Mega Man pointing his buster at Fireman. Fireman looked like he had been through hell. I was angry, angrier than I had ever been at that blue bastard. Every single fucking time I fight him something gets in the way. Despite my boiling rage my mind was clear.

I wanted to kill Mega Man myself with my own hands to save my pride but to hell with it! To hell with pride revenge! I ran at Mega Man and hooked his arms in a full nelson.

"Hey, let go of me!" He said

"Fireman, get up and help me." I said

Fireman wobbled up and a sick grin formed on his face.

"Thanks." He said

Fireman sent his knee into Mega Man's stomach. He gagged and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him. He sent his knees in three more times and started to punch him in the face.

"Stupid fucking kid!" Fireman shouted continuing the beating

"Take off his helmet," I said "do some real damage."

"Get the fuck away from me!" Mega Man shouted

Fireman reached for the helmet but Mega Man kicked him in the stomach with both legs. Fireman gave him three slugs to the stomach and slipped his fingers underneath the helmet. He yanked upward and the helmet came off like it was nothing.

* * *

"The shit just hit the fan!" Andrew said pacing around the room

"We need to help him." Molly said

Alex's face had just been revealed on the news. Now the two robots were beating him senseless.

"What can we do? Those guys have swords and can shoot fire!"

"My parents have a truck in the garage. We can drive down there right now and get him out of there."

"Neither of us can legally drive, what if the cops pull us over?"

"I think the two robots running around the city breaking stuff are of more concern right now!"

Andrew ran his fingers through his hair. He was anxious and scared. Part of him wanted to run out the door right now and help Alex but another part feared for his own life.

"Goddamn it, fine where are the keys?" Andrew asked

* * *

The Living room was completely silent when Alex was revealed.

"Oh my god." Leonard said

Alex's mother just sat there on the couch dumbstruck.

"Alex? My boy? Fighting…?" Dahlia said in fractured sentences

"Honey, are you alright?"

Dahlia sprang up from her seat and pulled her husband by his collar.

"Let's go, Leonard. I'll be damned if those bastards hurt one more hair on my baby's head!"

Alex's parents left the house and sped down the road as fast as they could. They were determined to save their son.

* * *

How do I describe this feeling? The only feeling that even comes close to this is being naked. It was worse than feeling naked though. I was exposed; Alex Spencer has been exposed to the city.

"Well," Fireman started "now that I see his face I almost feel bad."

Fireman socked me in the nose and I felt a crack. My nose was probably broken.

"Almost."

He grabbed my throat and squeezed. I thrashed my legs around trying to kick him but he only squeezed harder. I can't breathe, my lungs are burning! He released me and air rushed into my body. I was almost crying I was so relieved.

"Let go of one of his arms for me." Fireman said

Bass did what he asked and then hook his free arm around my neck. Thankfully he didn't do it so hard I couldn't breathe. Fireman grabbed my released arm and got up close to my face.

"Here's what I'm going to do. For everyone of my family you killed I'm gonna break one of your fingers and if piss me off anymore I'll break your legs instead."

I've never felt so scared in my life. Is this what it feels like when you know you're going to die? My mind is racing showing me all the things I'll never get to do. I'm not going to be with my family anymore, I won't be able to graduate with my class in two years, I won't go to college, I'll never be able to live on my own.

_Just close your eyes, Alex. It will all be over soon._

"No," I said "this can't be how it ends!"

"Shut up, Mega Man!" Bass said

Am I going to make it this time? I don't know. I don't know what to do!

**Please Review**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 19

Fireman grabbed my left index finger and slowly pulled it back. I closed my eyes and braced myself for it. He stopped to tell me something.

"This one's for Cutman," Fireman said with a chuckle "Make a wish."

With that he pulled back as hard as he could.

**CRACK!**

I thrashed around and yelled through my clenched teeth. Fireman gave me a knee to the stomach to get me quiet.

"Get used to it." He said

"I'm getting tired of holding onto him. Hurry it up!" Bass said

I need to think of something! I can't die here, who knows what Wily will do after I'm gone? Think damn it!

* * *

I ran around my lab working on four different computers. My robot masters have failed me too many times. Mega Man has taken down almost every single one; I can't take any more chances.

"Remaining Sniper Joes loaded into docking bay." The First computer said

"Hangar doors opening." The Second computer said

"Fuel tanks and backup tanks to maximum." The Third computer said

"Wily Castle ready for launch in twenty minutes." The Fourth computer said

I ran out of my lab and made my way to a large warehouse. Inside was my greatest invention. The Wily castle; my fortress that I will destroy Light and his pawns with. Inside my castle are an army of Joes and all the tools of my reign.

"I'm finally coming for you, Mega Man." I said entering the warehouse "I'm coming for you myself this time."

* * *

"Rock, do I have any steroid vials left?" I thought

_Of course, you still have all three._

"Give me two."

_What? Are you mad?_

"Bass is too strong for just one shot. Give me two I said!"

Fireman grabbed my middle finger.

"Hurry up!"

The two shots went into my body. My eyes went wide and felt my muscles bulge. I suddenly filled with boundless energy and rage. I jumped up and sent both my feet into Fireman's face. I heard a concussive metallic scraping sound.

With one movement I threw Bass off of me and into Fireman. Bass tried to get up but I picked him up above my head and chucked him in a random direction.

_Holy shit!_

"Christ!" He shouted

I jumped on top of Fireman and started slamming my fists into his chest. I must have looked like a wild ape killing an animal to protect its family. I wasn't thinking about anything except smashing Fireman. My broken fingers hurt the more I punched him but I didn't stop.

_Alex, calm down!_

I answered with a scream. I flipped onto my back and curled into the fetal position. I didn't know what was going on anymore.

_I hope this works._

My right arm moved on its own. It tightened into a fist and socked me in the face.

_Listen to me! You're experiencing roid rage; you need to calm yourself down. Take deep breaths._

I slowly breathed in and out. My heart beat slowed but I still felt angry and was shaking.

"I don't feel good." I said

_No shit! You just took two shots of a powerful steroid! Don't come crying to me when your balls shrink!_

I stood myself up and stumbled down again. I couldn't stop shaking. I looked at Fireman. The right part of his torso had been separated from himself.

_Be careful, we don't know if he's dead or not._

I started rocking back and forth. I rubbed my face trying regain my composure.

"You son of a bitch." Bass said

I looked up and Bass had his sword pointed between my eyes. The steroids were affecting my judgment. I stood up on my feet and stared Bass down.

"Fuck you and your sword." I said slapping the blade away from my face "I won, don't you get it? I win!"

I started giggling like a mad man. Bass' eyes were sending daggers at me but I was too under the influence. I just didn't care. Bass did a horizontal swipe but I grabbed his blade and snapped it in half. I punched him square in the jaw knocking him on his ass.

"I'm gonna…" Bass started to say

"Shut up." I said

I punched him on the top of his head and left a dent in his helmet. He fell on his back unconscious.

"I feel better now." I said still wobbling

_Somehow I don't believe that._

I heard a noise off in the distance. It was a car I think. I turned around and saw a beat up truck speeding towards me. I dismissed it and looked down at Fireman. He had given me the most trouble of all these guys. I grabbed his head and yanked it off him.

"Looks like I just got a flamethrower."

_Check Elecman too and when you're done gathering your spoils of war we need to check on Blues. That explosion a while ago must have hurt him if we haven't seen him yet._

I pushed the boulder off of Elecman's crushed body. I pulled his head off as well and tucked it underneath my arm. I heard the truck come to a stop and the doors open.

"It's safe now," I said "they're all gone."

"Yep, looks like we were late to the party." The person said

No way, it couldn't be. I turned around and my heart started beating. Andrew and Molly stood beside the beat up truck. They stood there with concerned smiles on their faces. I felt a multitude of things right now. I was happy to see them, embarrassed that my helmet was off, relieved that there was no more secrets, afraid of why they're going to say about all this.

"Hey." I said

"Hi." Andrew said

"I think you might want this." Molly said picking up my helmet

She handed it to me with a smile. I felt a little choked up.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I said

"Don't worry about it." Andrew said

_I hate to break up the happy reunion but we need to find Blues._

"Oh, okay. Can you guys help me with something?"

"Sure." Andrew said with a shrug

I lead them down the alley where Bombman took Blues. The area was wrecked, no doubt by the explosion. It wasn't hard to find Blues because of the bright red armor. He was in bad shape. His legs were blown clean off and he was just lying there. My reaction to this although surprised was nothing compared to Andrew and Molly's.

"Holy shit, his legs are gone!" Andrew shouted

"Is he dead?" Molly asked

I rolled my eyes in response.

_Amateurs._

"Hey, are you okay man?" I asked

"He has no legs, what do you think?" Molly said

"Please shut it."

I walked up to Blues and nudged his side. He tried pushing himself up but with no legs to sit with he fell back down. The fact that he could move at all got a frightened scream out of Andrew.

"Are you okay?" I asked

Blues pointed to the side of his head and shook his head.

"Crap, he's deaf." I said

_Being that close to an explosion, who wouldn't be?_

"Could someone please help me off the ground?" Blues yelled

I hooked my arms under his and picked Blues up without much trouble.

"Does the truck have a backseat we can put him in?"

"Yeah, I'll go open it." Andrew said running ahead

Molly walked along side of me; she had a few questions.

"Who is this guy?" She asked

"This is Bl…um, Protoman."

"Why isn't he bleeding?"

"He has…well had robot legs."

_Don't tell them everything; we'll save that for when we get repairs._

"Fine, whatever you say." I said out loud

"What?" Molly asked

"Nothing, I'll tell you guys later."

I got to the truck and put him on his back. He pushed himself up a little to say something.

"Did you take care of everyone?"

I nodded in response and shut the door.

"Uh, Alex," Andrew began "What should we do about him?"

Andrew was standing over Bass' body. That's a very good question; should I tell Garret about this?

_I think he has the right to know._

"You're probably right."

"Right about what?" He asked

"Just help me load him up." I said

I bent down to grab Bass' legs but Andrew was standing still.

"Help me here."

I then noticed he was staring up into the air with his jaw dropped. A giant shadow cast itself around me. I looked up to see a large mass blocking the sun from my view.

_Oh my god._

I was speechless. There was a giant castle in the sky. It was made of a bright purple metal and looked like you would imagine a castle would. It had three long towers with guns at the top of the right and left one. The walls of the castle were riddled with guns as well.

The front of the castle is what caught my eye most though. It was a huge skull with a W on the forehead. The whole thing was floating in the air on a huge red platform that looked like it had been buried in the ground. I could see jets blowing fire keeping the castle in the air. I couldn't find anything to say.

What can you possibly say to a giant flying fuck off castle?

"Andrew, get in the truck" I said eyes fixed on the castle

He just stood there gawking like a moron.

"How…how are you going to fight that?" He asked

"Snap out of it!" I said slapping him "Help me with Bass!"

Andrew and I scrambled to pick Bass up and carried him to the truck. We were interrupted.

"MEGAMAN!" A loud booming voice called

The castle must be amplifying Wily's voice. It was an old crotchety voice. I froze in place, afraid.

"I think he's talking to you, dude." Andrew said

"Shut up."

I can't just wait for Wily. I need to get the hell out of here. I started to load Bass into the truck but I heard electricity crackling behind me. I looked over my shoulder and a bright white flash blinded me. The light faded and Wily stood there with two sniper Joes behind him. He wore a long grey coat.

His hair was grey and only on the sides of his head. He supported himself with a cane with a skull at the top.

"I do believe this is the first time we've met." Wily said "Joes, take Bass to the Castle."

The two Joes walked toward us. Andrew reached into the toolbox in the back of the truck and pulled out a crowbar. Molly reached into the passenger's seat a pulled out an old baseball bat. I pointed my buster right at Wily's bald head.

"Your move." I said feeling confident

Wily rolled his eyes and started walking towards me.

_What the hell is he doing? _

"Back up, Wily!"

He just kept walking to me. I acted on instinct and tried to punch him and what happened next I swear to god actually happened. Wily crouched down fast and shoved the skull of his cane into my stomach. An electrical shock was sent through my body. He took the cane away, held it like a bat and slapped the side of my head with it. I was sent flying and scrapped the ground.

_What just happened?_

Andrew was the next to charge at Wily. Wily kicked him in the stomach and gave him to quick slaps to the face with his cane. He took the crowbar away and tossed it in my direction. He then picked Andrew up by his neck and chucked him next to me.

"We just got our asses kicked by a senior citizen." Andrew said

"Can we never speak of this again?" I asked

"Sure."

Wily Stood over us with a shit eating grin on his face.

"How the hell did you…?"

Wily reached into his coat and pulled the bottom of his shirt up.

_Yikes._

Wily's stomach was mostly metallic. The metal was a flesh like color that clashed with the color of his grey skin. He then pushed up the sleeve of his coat and showed a fully robotic arm.

"You don't get to be my age without medical problems." Wily said "I used my robotic genius to enhance my strength and health."

Molly managed to sneak up to Wily and smacked the back of his head with her bat. It wasn't a wimpy hit either. She swung it so hard it snapped on Wily's head. The only bad part of this is Wily didn't even flinch. He turned around and backhanded her to the floor.

"Stupid girl!" He said

"Son of a bitch!" Andrew yelled running at him

Wily grabbed him and chucked him into the bed of the pickup truck.

_Shoot him!_

I charged the buster as quick as I could but Wily turned around and plugged the barrel with his cane. I couldn't stop it from firing and it caused the buster to explode. The explosion sent metal shards into my face and hands. The burning shards sank into my skin and I began screaming at the top of my lungs. I grabbed at my face to pull out the shards but they hurt too much.

* * *

I tried desperately to push myself up to see what was taking them so long to get going. I managed to hold myself up by grabbing the back of the seat. Wily was there standing over Alex. Alex was on the ground his face bleeding and one of his friends had been thrown into the bed of the truck. I acted fast and started punching the back window of the truck until it broke.

"Hey, wake up." I said

Alex's friend got up and began yelling at me I think. I imagine it was about the window.

"I'm sure you have insurance. Get ready to grab Alex; I'm going to distract Wily."

He nodded in response and got ready to hop out of the truck. I aimed my buster at Wily and let out every shot I had. The first three struck the side of his face and the rest scattered across his body and the surrounding ground. He was knocked around out of surprise. Alex's friend vaulted out of the truck and scooped up Alex holding him on his shoulder. He yelled at the girl and she came running too.

He put Alex in the bed of the truck to save time and piled into the front seats. We sped off as fast as we could. As we left I saw the Sniper Joes picking up Bass and teleporting away. Wily was still there and looked at me with a death glare. He turned in our direction and started jogging.

"Is he trying to catch us?" I asked

The jogging turned into sprinting. Wily's speed continued to increase to inhuman levels as he chased after us.

"Oh, Jesus." I said

My heart sank as this was happening. How is Wily doing this, how the hell is he doing this? We're shit out of luck. Alex doesn't have a buster and is hysterical and I made a bad move using all my shots.

"Fuck!" I shouted trying to think

He was getting closer and closer to the truck.

"Take the next left" I said

We made a sharp turn and I was thrown off balance. I fell and now couldn't see if Wily was gaining or not.

"Go as fast as you can!" I started "Is there anything in here we can use as a weapon?"

I saw the girl searching around so the boy could pay attention to the road. She opened the glovebox and a small black handgun, a box of ammo and assorted papers fell out. She handed me the gun and ammo. It was a standard Glock with a 17 shot clip. The clip was full and the box said it had 50 inside.

I picked myself back up and held myself still. I didn't have too much experience with firearms. I think my grandfather took me hunting once and that was it. I aimed down the sight as carefully as I could and pulled the trigger. It must have missed as he didn't flinch or anything.

"Damn it all!" I said after missing two more shots

* * *

We were speeding down the street trying to avoid something. I heard gunshots but don't know what's happening. My face and hands were still burning because of the metal shards.

_Alex, come on buddy, get up._

"It hurts too much." I said

_I know it hurts believe me I know but if you don't get up and help Wily will kill us!_

"What did Wily send?"

_Wily's taking care of this himself. He is running after us and he is booking!_

"My buster is broken. I can't use some of my powers without it."

_That's just the ice beam. You still have Cutman and Gutsman left._

"Oh my god! I have an idea!" I said pushing myself up

_What're you doing?_

"You'll see. Guts Arm," I yelled out "and now, Cut Arsenal: Battle Axe!"

I felt Gutsman's strength pour into me and then held my hands up. Two giant axes formed in my hands; these were bigger than I was and yet I was holding them with ease.

_Holy crap, you just combined the powers of two robot masters…why have we never thought of that?_

I used all the strength in my right arm to throw the first axe vertically. Wily tried to move out of the way but he was moving so fast he couldn't turn in time. The first axe sliced his right arm clean off. Wily spun out of control and skidded on the ground. Before we were too far I threw the last axe right for his head.

He held his cane out and an energy ball charged up and fire at me. It hit my axe making it shatter into many metal shards. The shards all came for me. I ducked down as fast as I could. I heard the shards rain on the truck but except for a few tiny bits they missed me.

_Get back up he's going to be on our tail again._

Rock was right. Wily had gotten back up and was coming for us.

"Old man, isn't time for your nap!" I yelled at him

Appearently that was the last straw. Wily jumped up into the air and sailed for a few few before landing in the roof of the truck.

"What's going on out there?" Andrew asked

"Don't ask!" I said back

I didn't give Wily a chance to get his bearings. I grabbed his legs and yanked them. He fell hitting his face on the roof. I pulled him into the truck bed and gave him a left jab to the face which made me yell out in pain and let go. Wily kicked me in the stomach. I stumbled back and almost fell off the truck. My legs grabbed onto the door of the truck bed and now I was upside down.

_I've got ya!_

Rock took control of my body and help me flip back up and then socked Wily in the face. I regained control and began pummeling him in the face and chest. He hit in the side with his cane and pressed the skull tip against me. The same electric shock from earlier hit me. I grabbed Wily by his face and the shock went into him as well.

We were both screaming in pain while giving each other death glares. Wily managed to pull the cane away and we both we free. I gave him an uppercut and he went a short distance into the air and landed on the roof of the truck. I climbed on top of him and wrapped my hands around his neck. I then starting to slam his head down while choking the breath out of him.

He pushed his legs against my stomach and I slid forward. I almost fell of the hood of the truck but someone grabbed my leg. I looked back and saw that Andrew had grabbed my foot through the driver's seat window while driving.

"I'm not gonna let you go, man!" He said

_It looks like you've got some pretty god friends._

I answered with a thumbs up and managed to sit myself on the hood in a safe way.

"Take this next right!" I yelled "Try to shake him off!"

Andrew made a sharp right and almost through me off but I held onto the hood as hard as I could. Wily had the same idea and managed no to fall off. He moved onto the truck hood and raised his cane above his head. The windshield behind us shattered as Blues fired multiple shots in Wily's back. This got a scream of agony out of him but it didn't stop there.

Molly grabbed his leg and pulled at it. Wily lost his balance and fell onto one knee. I stood up, grabbed the sides of his head and hit him square in the face with my knee. I snatched him by his coat and pulled him under me. I then repeatedly punched him in the face with my good arm.

He hit the side of my face with his cane over and over again but I refused to let go. He's not getting away this time!

* * *

I can't concentrate on the road! With that Protoman guy firing that gun and the fight on the hood I have to look out the driver's window to see where I'm going. I've been taking every sharp turn to get this old man off but it doesn't work! I came to an intersection and was going to take another turn but another car came from the right. Everything seemed to move slowly as I saw that car coming right for us.

I put my arm around Molly's waist and pulled her toward me. The car hit us dead on; Alex and the old man were tossed off somewhere. The crash managed to make us roll on the ground. It was loud scary and a metallic screech was all I could hear. Not even my own screaming made it through.

"Oh god," I groaned "Molly, are you alright?"

We were upside down and I felt blood rushing to my head.

"Answer me." I said

"I'm okay, I'm alright" She said

Let out a sigh of relief. I looked back and saw Protoman moving around. It was then I heard out hearts beating. It sounded so fast.

"I guess we're all okay." I said

I crawled out of the car and pulled the rest of them out. We were injured; Molly had glass in her arm and I had a few cuts and a dislocated shoulder. I would say Protoman escaped undamaged but he still had no legs so that would be a lie.

"Stay here, I'm going to check for Alex and the other driver."

I walked to the other car. Alex and the man had been flung a good distance away. I helped Ale up and put his arm around me to give him support.

"Did…did we get him?" I asked

The old man was lying there motionless. It didn't even look like he was breathing

"No, that was too easy. I need…I need to finish it." He said letting go of me and walking back to the man

I looked to the other car and thought it looked familiar. I squinted my eyes to see the drivers and I immediately went wide eyed.

"Alex," I called "come see this."

* * *

I looked back and saw what he was talking about. The car we crashed into was the family car. It my mom and dad's car! I saw both of the get out and they were okay. They were dizzy and scared but they were okay!

"Mom?"

_Go ahead; I think they want to see you._

"Mom, dad!" I yelled out

How can I explain this feeling? Do you remember when you were a little kid and your parents first dropped you off at daycare? You would spend all that time being afraid and nervous and you thought they left you there for good? Do you remember that feeling you got when you saw them come in to pick you up? Do you remember that feeling of utter joy and happiness? That's what I'm feeling right now.

I know it's weird for a teenager to do this but I ran at them arms open. I was bolting toward them. I grabbed my mom in a hug and she hugged back.

"Oh my god, Alex!" It was good to hear her voice "Alex, are you okay? How badly are you hurt?"

Tears burned through my eyes and started going down my face.

"I'm okay, mom. I'm okay now."

She rubbed my back and refused to let go of me. Dad wrapped his arms around us as well. I could hear him crying.

"Alex," He started "My boy, my boy's okay."

"I'm okay." I said again

Dad pulled away a bit to ask me a few things.

"Why didn't you tell us?" He sounded mad and happy

"I'll talk about that later. I just want to enjoy this."

Dad tightened his embrace around us.

"Well isn't this fucking adorable!" I heard a voice

I turned away from my parents and to Wily. He stood up beaten and bruised. He looked like he could keel over any second now.

"I'll admit," He started "I'm stubborn as hell but even I know when to retreat to fight another day. Call me up!"

A white beam shined down from the Wily Castle and hit him.

"No," I said "No, no no!"

I ran at him at full speed. I'm such an idiot; I left him there without finishing it!

"I'm not letting you get away" I shouted

I lunged at him but it was too late. He disappeared in a flash of white light. I fell and scrapped the ground.

"Shit!" I shouted slamming my hands on the ground

_Goddamn it!_

I picked myself up began shouting.

"Fuck! After everything I've done. Efter everything that's happened he still gets away!"

Looked up at the Wily castle with a glare of pure hate.

"This is the only one you're getting! I 'm coming up there now and I'm going to finish this! I coming for you, Wily and I WILL kill you!"

I made a promise to myself, everyone that was there and the whole city in that one moment. I'm not letting Wily go again. I'm going up to his castle and I will kill him! I looked to my group of friends and family.

"We need to get to Dr. Light's house. Now." I said

**Please review**

**This took forever! But it was so worth it. Regarding the live show. Only one of you mentioned it so I'm guessing none of you are game. That's okay but I still want to get to know you guys. If you have any ideas on how I can connect with you, my fans I'd love to hear them**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 20

My parents wouldn't let me go walking in the condition I was in. Mom called doctor Light to come pick us up from the crash site. I was a mess; the metal shards from my exploded buster were still in my skin. Blood was running off my body. My face wasn't fairing much better.

My cheeks, chin, lips and a spot on my neck had metal protruding from them. They dripped blood as well. My eyes were safe because of the visor but metal bits were still jutting out of there too. I sat with my back against the wrecked truck. Both my parents sat next to me and started helping me with my injuries.

"Alex, let me look at that." My dad said

He took hold of my left arm. When my buster blew up it took most of the armor on my left arm with it. My hand to my elbow was exposed. He looked it over before letting it o and starting to take off his belt. He took out a small pocketknife to poke a hole near the buckle.

He looped it around my wrist tightly.

"Ow."

"I know it hurts but this will help with the bleeding."

He was right; my arm had stopped dripping as much.

"Thank you"

An awkward silence set in. No one knew what to say next. What was there to say?

"How did all this happen?" Mom asked

"I'd like to know that too, please." Andrew said

Andrew propped Blues against the truck next to my dad. He and Molly sat across from us awaiting my explanation.

_Don't you just hate being put on the spot like this?_

I pulled my helmet off and set it to the side. I groaned as I started rubbing my forehead with my good hand. There was no point in keeping anymore secrets. How can I even begin to explain this?

"I…I've got no idea." I said sounding defeated "Hold on, I'm trying to figure out how to summarize this the best I can…okay. I tried to stop a mugging and got bashed on the head. It left a gash so in order to help my condition a doctor injected the cut with steroids."

"You're on drugs?" My mom asked with the kid of shock you would expect

"Let me finish please. The steroid reacted perfectly to my body so the doc asked if get inside a blue metal suit and fight giant robots for him. I'm assuming you've seen said robots on the news so I won't go into detail about them. I beat all of them and now the big bad guy behind all this: Dr. Wily has started his plan to…actually what his plan the whole time?"

_I've got nothing. I think world domination somewhere down the line but I'm not even entirely sure._

"This whole thing just seems kind of pointless when you think about it. I mean, what did he do after the whole framing Dr. Light thing?"

_I'm not…oh, he's stolen weapons and machinery here and there._

"Oh, so just theft and framing a guy. Was that really worth all this bullshit?"

_Nope, the guy's just nuts._

"Totally."

"Alex, who are you talking to?" Dad asked

I didn't even notice all of their confused looks. I just had an entire conversation with Rock in front of them. I need to learn to stop doing that.

"Well, I guess this is a good a time as any to reveal that I have an Artificial Intelligence program that was formerly a robot wired into my head that gives me orders."

Complete silence followed.

_You don't know a damn thing about tact do you?_

"What are you talking about?" Mom asked

I lay the back of my head against the truck. I let out a groan as I stared up at the sky. I felt dizzy from the blood loss. I don't think I can talk anymore. Luckily I didn't have to; I heard the sound of the doctor's van pull up. I felt a little relief and let myself relax. I slipped away and went to sleep.

* * *

Alex's head slumped onto his dad's shoulder. It was then that a van pulled up to us and two men and a woman piled out.

"Load him up, quickly." The woman said

Without a single word Alex's dad picked him up under his arms. I stood up and took the legs. All of us piled into the van and sped off as fast as we could. It was when we all sat down and the quiet set in that I really looked at Alex. His skin was pale as a sheet and his face was covered in bruises and cuts.

If it weren't for his chest rising and falling with breath you'd think he was dead. I looked over to Molly and couldn't help but feel thankful that she and I weren't in the same condition.

"What's wrong?" She asked

"Scared as hell." I said bluntly

"We're going to try to help you." The woman said

"Who the hell are you people," Alex's mom spoke out "What have you done to my son?"

"My name is Dr. Thomas Light." The old man started "This man is my bodyguard Garret and the girl with you is my daughter Roll. As for your son I saved him from brain damage."

"What I meant was why is he in this getup fighting for you?"

"That was your son's decision, we asked him if he would and he said yes."

"Doctor, there's more to it than that." Roll said and then turned to Alex's mom "Alex saved me from getting mugged and was assaulted in the progress."

"We know that much. What's with the suit?"

"It's Dr. Light's creation; it was built with parts from another robot, Rock. He's been accompanying Alex in his fights. I know this is a lot to take in but you son hasn't been fighting by himself."

"Rock…is that the…thing in his head?" She asked

"Rock isn't a thing." She said "He's my brother and…"

"You're what?" I asked a little too loudly "You're a robot too?"

Before the discussion could continue the van came to a screeching halt. The two men picked Alex up and carried him into the house with all of us following close behind. They took him into their basement and told us to remain in the living room. Alex's injuries required immediate surgery. All we could do now is wait.

* * *

I felt an odd sense of peace despite what I had gone through. I opened my eyes slowly and my eyes were assaulted with an array of shifting colors. I rubbed my eyes and reopened them; the scenery was an unnatural shade of bleached white.

"What the hell?" I asked

"Are you alright?" Rock's voice echoed

"Where am I?" I asked

"You're unconscious at the moment. I decided to keep you company while the surgery goes on."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position.

"How long has it been going on?"

"It's been about six and a half hours. You're stable and are going to come out of this okay. There will be multiple scars along your face and all the way up your left arm unfortunately."

"How bad does that look?"

"Just be glad it's not Jonah Hex territory"

"Who the hell is…never mind."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Not really, I'm shook up after all that. How can you do that to yourself? He's more machine than man."

"I couldn't tell you, I don't think Wily has ever been right in the head."

"He was so much stronger than us and I had two steroid shots in me."

"Listen, the worst thing you could do right now is harp on it. We need to keep our heads up and not back down."

"Right." I said standing myself up "How much longer until I wake up?"

"Hard to say, it could be few more hours."

* * *

Alex's surgery had gone through without much trouble. He was stable and lying on the bed sleeping. I sat next to him on an old fold out chair. This was too much to take in all at once. My son was right across from me, battle scarred and pale with an IV pumping into him. The bandages covered up the bottom half of his face and his entire arm. The scars were hidden but I felt them staring at me accusingly. I placed my head into my hands and let out a groan.

"Leonard, you moron." I berated myself "You should have done something, anything. You're a terrible father."

Dahlia walked into the room and sat beside me on another chair. We had barely spoken a word to each other. Maybe we were too busy blaming ourselves.

"How are you holding up?" She asked

"Better than earlier I suppose but that's not saying much and yourself?"

"The same.

The woman named Roll then came into the room. She took off Alex's IV and switched it out. My wife was glaring at the girl, blaming her for this mess.

"Do either of you need anything?" She asked

"No thank you." Dahlia said. I said the same shortly after

She turned to leave but turned back and began to speak.

"I know that we're not on the best of terms right now but I want you to know that Alex has been doing a lot of good. He's admitted to being terrified but still managed to man up and help people. I can only imagine it came from you raising him the way you did. I think you should both be proud."

Her attempts at making peace were appreciated. I was proud of my son and what he was doing but not enough to ease my own worry.

"Thank you." Dahlia said

With that Roll left the room and the silence returned.

**I know this chapter is short and not a lot happens but after the last chapter I fell into writer's block. It also didn't help that college started for me on August 17****th****. Please be patient because school is important. Again, I'm sorry that its been so long but bare with me.  
**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 21

I sat in the dark living room basking in the white glow of the television. The volume was low so that everyone else in the house could sleep. How they could sleep I'll never know. I didn't feel like sleeping, not after today. Today was the most terrifying day of my life. Car chases, bodily injury and cyborg old people; it's not what you would call a normal stressful situation.

Everyone came out of this banged up. Alex, Molly and Blues got the worst of it. I was unscathed for the most part. I started feeling guilty…is there a name for that? I think it's called "Survivors Syndrome." It's when you're in a situation where a lot of people are hurt except for you and you feel like you should have been hurt instead. I think that sums up how I feel in a nutshell.

I shook the feeling off, switched the TV off and walked downstairs. This was probably the tenth time I checked Alex. He had been out for a while. He fell asleep at maybe four in the afternoon, the surgery lasted four hours and ever since that he's been out cold. It was 4:37 a.m.

I sat on the fold out chair across from him. He looked pretty normal right now. Some of the color had started to come back into his skin.

"Hey," I started "you awake?"

I didn't expect it to work but I had to do it. I just had to check. I stood up to leave but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard Alex groan. He slowly shifted back and forth.

"Are you finally waking up, dude?"

His eyes opened up lazily but he winced and closed them tight. He said something to me but it was muffled by the bandages.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." I said "Can I get you anything?"

Alex pointed to his mouth and then made a scissor motion with his hand. I snatched up the nearest sharp object I could, a used scalpel. I cleaned it off as best I could and handed it over.

* * *

I carefully slice the bandages so I could talk.

"How long has it been?" I asked

"It's been a while, more than twelve hours." Andrew said

_I just told you that earlier._

I took this time to look myself over. My entire left arm and bottom half of my face was wrapped up like a mummy. I had one bandage on my right hand and further up that arm was an IV.

"How do you feel?" Andrew asked

"That was definitely worse than getting shot in the stomach." I said pulling the IV out of my arm

_You recovered from it well, there's always that._

"Did I miss anything?"

Andrew stood with a look on his face. It was that "I don't know how to say this" face.

"Did something happen?"

"You're gonna need to come outside for this."

I stood up with a bit of trouble but Andrew put my arm around his shoulders to give me support. He led me up the stairs and to the front door.

"Get ready."

He opened the door and my heartbeat skyrocketed.

"Oh shit."

_Oh shit, indeed._

The city outside was crawling with men and women in military uniforms. Jeeps and even a few tanks were driving around. I looked up into the sky; Black helicopters zipped through the air shining their lights into the sky. The U.S. Army had gotten involved.

"What the hell else could happen?" I shouted

I slammed the door and sat down on the couch.

"The shit has hit the fan."

"Yeah, and the fan just kept spinning and spreading it everywhere." Andrew said sitting next to me

_Let's look at the bright side. At least we're going to have the army helping us with Dr. Wily._

"Would you mind keeping it down? I'm trying to work."

Dr. Light looked almost as bad as I did. He had deep bags under his eyes. His skin looked greasy, as did his hair. He looked like he was going to fall over.

"You look like hell." I said

"I've been working nonstop for nearly twenty-four hours, so excuse me if I don't look like a spring chicken." Dr. Light said with a scowl "Now follow me."

The both of us obeyed. We made our way to Light's room and my suit was lying on his work bench. The entire left arm was blown off. A lot of the blue paint on the torso and arms were scratched away and left a sickly gray. The legs had more intact but still, they were dented and scuffed.

"All those years of work." Dr. Light rubbed his hand on the metal taking off a chip of paint "This suit was my son, my greatest creation and Wily destroyed it. Now he's done it again!"

Dr. Light slammed his hand down, he was shaking. I was a little afraid to speak up but I forced myself.

"Is there anything you can do for it?"

Light sat on his bed with his shoulders slumped down. You could hear his joints pop and crack. He shook his head looking sullen.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have any of the necessary parts and even if I did it would take years with only two people who know the science."

"What about the Army?" Andrew asked "Maybe they could help us."

Dr. Light's look brightened up slightly. He sprang up and grabbed Andrew by his shoulders.

"What's your name again, son?" He asked

"Andrew, sir"

"Andrew, that's a great idea! Thank you." The Doc said smiling

_Didn't I just say that a few minutes ago?_

"You gotta speak up, man." I thought

_I don't even have mouth, smartass!_

I'll have Garret make contact with them in the morning. I need to get some rest and so do you."

The Doctor made us exit the room. Our plan of action was somewhat underway but there was one thing I needed to take care of before going to sleep.

"I need to talk to Garret." I said walking down the hall.

Andrew didn't follow. He went back to the living room to watch TV. Garret's door was at the very end of the hall. It was the same as all the others ones but it felt imposing somehow. I swallowed and lightly knocked on the door. In no time at all it opened and the large man stood in front of me.

_Just pick your words carefully and we'll be fine._

"Could we talk, please?" I asked

He didn't answer me. He turned away leaving the door open and sat at on his bed.

"Am I right to assume you've been keeping tabs on the news?"

"Yes." Garret said

"Then…you know who Bass is."

Even in the dark you could see Garret tense up.

"When I go to Wily he's going to send Bass after me. I…I'll need to defend myself. I'm sorry."

He stood up from the bed, towering over me. I expected a look of rage or just a glare but I saw a look all too familiar. He had a look of torment on him. It was the look my parents had. I suddenly felt like I got slugged in the stomach.

"Promise me something." He asked

He put his hands on my shoulders and knelt down to my level.

"Promise me that you'll help him."

I fidgeted around a little. His grasp was strong and desperate. It hurt a little.

_Alex, I think we need to get out of here._

"I don't know if I can. I don't know anything."

His grip tightened on me. The circulation to my arms was being cut down.

"Promise me, damn it!" He yelled as he shook me

"I don't know how!" I yelled back

His hands clamped onto my neck and he squeezed. He was going to kill me! I paniced and didn't know what to do.

_Hold on, I've got you!_

Rock sent my leg into Garrets stomach but it didn't do anything. I put my hands on the sides of his face and sent my thumbs into his eyes. It wasn't hard enough to do any damage but his natural reflex made him let go of me. Air rushed into my throat and I started hacking up a storm.

I'm sorry." Garret said

After coughing a few more times I answered him.

"I'm sorry too. I'll try my best but I don't know what to do."

I was angry but I understood why he did it. He's a parent and he only wants his son to be safe.

"I can't make that promise, Garret but I'll try."

His expression didn't change. He still looked broken. I couldn't say anything else so I left him there.

_He didn't hurt you too bad, did he?_

"No, I feel okay. He's the one feeling worse."

I sat back down next to Andrew. Neither of us felt like sleeping.

* * *

The United States Army remained posted up outside the city limits. The troops spent their time clearing the city of its people. They had to get as many people out before they started a plan of attack. A lone soldier holding up a glowing baton thing was directing traffic.

"Hurry up people." He said "just follow our procedures and you will be back in your homes as soon as possible."

A random person honked in retaliation.

"Just go and shoot the guy, you moron!" A civilian said

"Up yours, buddy!" The soldier shouted

Out of frustration the soldier tossed the baton on the ground. Another soldier picked it up and resumed the job. He had been up all night standing in that one spot. A Korean man in his mid thirties ran up alongside him.

"Hey, Gerald." The Korean man said "Your shift end?"

"Something like that." Gerald said rubbing his eyes "How goes the recon, Lee?"

"I've found some things by interviewing the residents."

"I feel like a jackass for saying this but I hate helping these people. This whole damn city sucks."

"You've been here?"

"Years ago when I was a kid. I had an uncle out here and I would come to visit during the summer. Do you know how many times I got mugged here? Now we've got fucking robots! Robots, Lee!"

"If you think that's nuts you need to hear about this Mega Man guy."

"That's another thing, there's a grown ass man going around wrapped in metal walking around. The guys probably certifiable."

Lee snickered to himself.

"What's funny?"

"All in due time let's go to General Mathis' tent then you'll know."

The pair walked across the military outpost to the general's tent. Inside was a cheap wooden table and a map off the city. A lot of their supplies still hadn't gotten to the sight.

"Sir." The soldiers said together

"At ease." General Mathis said

General Mathis was a man in his mid fifties. He was a Caucasian man a little over six feet tall. He wore a standard uniform and had a certain air about him. He stood tall with his back straight and with a stern look on his face that commanded respect. He was cleanly shaven and would have a buzz cut if he was bald as can be.

"What do you have to report, Lee?" he asked

"I've questioned the city folk and have found out about someone who can help us."

"Is this that Mega Man we've been hearing about?"

"Yes, he's been fighting off the robots ever since the attacks started. We believe he may have more knowledge pertaining to this Wily man."

"Do we know who Mega Man is?"

"Yes, he has been identified as Alex Spencer."

"Alright, we need to find Mr. Spencer and request his assistance. We're going in blind here. Do you know what branch Spencer is with? Is he Marines, special ops or what?"

Lee looked uncomfortable as he spoke this last sentence.

"Sir, Alex Spencer is a local High School student. He's sixteen."

The room was dead silent for about a minute until the general spoke.

"Get him." The general said with a sigh

"Sir?" Gerald asked "He's a kid"

"It's still a smarter move than attacking Russia in winter. We know nothing and are undersupplied. Get him"

"Yes sir!" the soldiers said leaving

**I want to thank you guys for understanding my college situation. I have to focus on school but is still try to write when I can. My theater major isn't going to earn itself.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 22

**Hi, I know it has been a while but college is really tough and time consuming. I am now on summer break and will have a little more free time. Thanks for understanding everyone and enjoy the chapter.**

I don't know how but Andrew and I managed to sleep. The couch was old and lumpy but it felt like heaven. I don't think I dreamed but I'm glad I could have a moment to myself. I opened my eyes to find that it was morning. I could hear commotion all around the house from everyone else that had woken up.

_Morning._

"Good Morning." I said rubbing my eyes "What time is it?"

_A little past 11:00 a.m._

I stood up from the couch and stretched. I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Andrew came from down the hallway and sat down next to me.

"We're packing up some stuff to take to the army base. We've loaded up the suit and your drugs." Andrew said and then yawned

"Anyone using the shower?" I asked

"Nope, your parents asked to drop by your house. They picked up some clothes for you."

"Thanks, man"

I made my way to the shower. I felt so at peace letting the hot water hit me. After I was done I combed my hair for once. I combed it back so it wouldn't hang in my face. I opened the door with a towel wrapped around my hip. I looked down to find a stack of clothes my parents got. It was then I realized that I have been wearing the same clothes all this time.

_That's kind of disgusting._

"Not my fault, dude"

My clothes were a pair of blue jeans, black tennis shoes, a red t-shirt and my blue hooded sweatshirt but it had been washed.

_Doesn't it feel good to wear clothes without bullet holes and burns in them?_

Someone knocked on the door and I answered. It was Doctor Light, he had bags under his eyes. He wobbled slightly as he spoke.

"Get in the van, we're leaving now."

"Well good morning to you too, sunshine." I said jokingly

He walked away without a word or change of expression. I shrugged it off and followed. We all piled into the van and drove off.

* * *

My last fight with Megaman has left me feeling uneasy. He let me live, I was unconscious and he could have ended me…but he didn't. Megaman isn't stupid, before that if he had the chance to kill me he would take it. Something has changed.

"What's going on with him?" I said to myself

My thoughts were interrupted by Wily entering the room. His arm had been fully repaired and he was angry. Megaman had bruised his ego.

"I've been keeping tabs on Light's home. He's left the house and headed to the army base. He's trying to get help." Wily said walking to his control panels

Wily grabbed a microphone on the panel and spoke into it, his voice sounding over the intercom.

"Joes, report to the transport room. We will be storming the base."

I stand at attention to receive my orders.

"I want you to stay here and hold down the fort. Just in case they get any bright ideas I want you here."

"But I…"

"We've been hit! Both of us have underestimated Megaman, I will not let this happen again. I'm going to handle this myself."

"Yes sir." I said defeated

Wily left me alone in the room.

"You better not die Megaman, I want that honor."

* * *

The drive to the base took around an hour. The drive was mostly silent and awkward. My hand frequently ran across my face feeling my scars. There were so many, some tiny and some an inch long.

_Don't pick at them._

I looked out the window of the van. I could see the tents all around as we pulled up. We were stopped by two soldiers guarding the entrance.

"You can't come in here." One of them said "If you're escaping the city, there's a shelter a few mile down the road."

"We're here to help. We have information regarding the attacks." Garret said

"We appreciate the thought but we don't want you endangering yourselves. Please go to the shelter."

The soldier turned to leave but Garret got out of the van and approached them.

"You're looking for Megaman, aren't you?"

The soldier stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"We have him. Right in the back of this van."

The soldier turned to the other one.

"Go get General Mathis."

"Alex, get out here."

I jumped out of the van as did everyone else. From a distance I saw General Mathis walking towards us. He towered over me and was very imposing.

"Is this him?" The general asked the soldier

"So they claim, sir."

"Is your name Alex Spencer, son?"

"Yes, sir"

His eyes were intense, they looked me over as if her were trying to drill into me.

_Maybe you should say something?_

"Um…how's your morning been?" I asked

He raised an eyebrow at me before speaking.

"So you're Mega Man?"

"I am."

"You'll forgive me for not taking this at face value but I need some evidence."

"Alex, come here, please" Dr. Light called

I went behind the van out of sight of the general. The doctor revealed a syringe.

"Roll up your sleeve." He whispered

He started thumping my inner elbow and slapping it. He was trying to find my vein. After a few second he found it and injected me with the steroid.

"Give it a few second, and then show them what you're made of."

I walked back to the general and started to think. What can I do to prove who I am?

_Maybe we can get a volunteer from the audience?_

"Hey, can I borrow one of you?" I asked the soldiers

They looked to each other in confusion but the left one agreed. I walked to him and grabbed his body armor. He was big guy, easily around 300 pounds. I'm able to catch a car so he shouldn't be a hassle.

"What are you…?"

I lifted him up in the air above my head.

"Oh shit!"

I dropped him and the soldier backed away from me. The general had a slight smirk on his face.

"So you're the superman?" He asked with a laugh

"That's what the news says, sir."

"Welcome aboard."

"I'd like to ask you something first, sir." Dr. Light said stepping forward

"And what is that?"

"We need your assistance with a few matters. Our little hero here needs his suit repaired and we have little to no materials. Any scrap metal you can spare will help. We also have a others with us, friends and family. If we are going to help each other you must help them too."

"Alright then, sounds fair to me."

Molly and I were taken to the med tent to get a check up on our wounds with Andrew following behind. Doctor Light, Roll, Blues and Garret went with General Mathis to find supplies. My parents went to the barracks, they needed rest.

* * *

We hauled the suit into one of the tents. The buster was blown off along with right side of the torso. The legs wee banged up as well.

"We can salvage parts from my suit." Blues said "The buster is intact but the les were destroyed when I fought Bombman, along with mine."

"Your buster is only a prototype," I said "It only has ten shots and needs to be charged all the time."

"We'll need to find another power source…wait!" The doctor exclaimed "Roll, do you have Elecman's chip with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Elecman gathered microscopic electrons in the air combined with his own battery to create electric bolts. We will wire the buster to the chip and the air electrons will power the buster. It will take a while for it to gather but it will charge the buster."

"Alright, that's manageable at least," Blue said "But we still need metal to repair the torso. Hey Garret, any word on any scrap we can use?"

Garret walked back into the tent with a smile.

"We've got more than scrap. The general is having his men disassemble a jeep for materials. Roll could you help me load this stuff in?" Garret said

"Of course." I said leaving the tent

"I need a welding torch too, Garret." The doctor said after us

* * *

My wounds were pretty much taking care of themselves. The medic was giving most of his attention to Molly. Every now and again she would experience more bleeding from the cuts all over her right arm. I was sitting on a cot waiting.

"You feel alright?" I asked

"I'm okay, it just stings." Moll said

"Do you need me to get you anything?" Andrew asked

"No, I'm fine."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"OF course." The medic said "If what you said is true then she's lucky to only get some cuts. Once I replace the bandages she'll be fine."

As he wrapped Molly's arm Andrew sat down on one of the cots and groaned as he rubbed his head.

_I know it's just a tent but doctor make me feel nervous._

"Why, you're an AI?"

_I don't know, it just happens._

"Do you need some aspirin, Andrew?" The medic asked

"Yes, please."

The medic rummaged through his cabinet but he couldn't find any.

"Damn, that's right. I used my last this morning. The supply truck will be hear soon I'll go get some from the shipment."

The medic left us all alone in the tent. We sat in silence until Molly spoke up.

"Hey…since the news knows Alex is involved with all this, what will it be like when we go back to school?"

"That's a good question. Can things really go back to normal when we stop Wily?"

"I doubt it," Andrew said "You're going to be worshipped like some God after this. On top of all that no one will ever fuck with you…ever."

_I wouldn't fuck with a guy who could catch a car in midair._

"Just don't let all that go to your head, Alex." Molly said jokingly

"Don't say that. Things will be normal again, right? We'll still be friends and I'll just try to get by in school like always…will I?"

_Don't sweat it. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it._

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Hey, I have to ask, what's the robot voice thing like? Is it awkward to share a brain?" Andrew asked

"It used to be but to be honest I've gotten used to having him there."

_Aw, I'm touched. We're like brothers, ha ha!_

"It feels like that sometimes. You definitely act like a big brother."

We all talked for a few hours. It's been a while since the last time I felt this relaxed. We went on to talking about school stories.

"Alex and I were cleaning out the science lab once and I found this laxative like thing in one of the cupboards and when he wasn't looking I put it in his coke."

"You're an asshole!" Molly said laughing

_HAHAHAHAH!_

"Let me finish, let me finish! The damn thing didn't work!"

"It's true, I drank it and didn't find out until later but it didn't work on me."

"How the fuck does that happen!" Andrew yelled

"I don't know, maybe it was expired?" I said

The tent was roaring with laughter as we talked.

* * *

Leonard and I were relaxing in the barracks the best we could.

"I don't think this whole situation has sunk in yet." He said

"I doubt it ever will."

"Our son is a superhero…right out of a comic book." He chuckled

"Where did this come from? Alex has always been so…so…"

"Cynical?"

"I guess that's it, he's just never seemed capable of these things."

"I'm glad this happened, in a way. Dahlia, he's been saving people! A lot more good than I did as a goddamned rent a cop!"

"Don't say that about yourself, Leo."

"Dolly, he's not done with this. That Wily bastard is still out there. Alex is going to want to finish this."

"I don't know what to do. I just want to protect him."

"Me too."

* * *

Molly and Andrew were asleep as Rock and I talked.

"We're going to get him."

_Alex, what are you planning to do to Wily exactly?_

"I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I should bring him to the authorities but what if he escapes. What if I have to…"

_Let's hope it doesn't come to that._

I closed my eyes, I was tired. I wish I could have got to sleep but I heard a noise. I heard gunfire.

My eyes snapped open and I ran out of the tent. MY heart sank as I looked to the distance. I saw Wily's ship in the air and on the ground I saw droves of Joes marching towards us. An alarm began to sound throughout the camp.

"Oh god"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 23

"Guys, get up!" I shouted as I shut the flap to the tent.

"What, what's happening?" Molly asked as she shot up

"Wily's troops are here!"

"Oh shit!" Andrew shouted

_We need to make sure everyone else is okay and get the hell out of here!_

I peeked my head out of the tent and the Joes were wandering around the camp with the soldiers fighting back. I saw a group of three soldiers get blown away by a Joe with a grenade launcher. Five troops ganged up on a Joe spraying it with gunfire until it fell to the ground. I scanned around to find a break in the panic where we could escape. A Joe looked over and saw me, we locked eyes and it pointed its machine gun at the tent.

"GET DOWN!" I shouted

I jumped onto Andrew and Molly as bullets ripped through the tent. It collapsed on top of us. One of the support poles hit the back of my head, not too much pain but it still stung.

"Everyone alright?"

"Yes." They answered

_It's still coming, we need to move!_

I helped them up and we ran side by side. I need my suit, I ran as fast as I could across the camp. An army jeep pulled in front of us.

"Get in, hurry." The soldier said

We approached the jeep but a stray bullet went clear through the soldier's forehead. His body slumped on the steering wheel. Andrew screamed in response.

"Let's get in! This'll be safer." Molly said

We pushed the driver into the back seat and we piled in. Andrew and I sat up front.

"Where are the barracks?" I asked

"East part of the camp, I think." Molly said

"I'm on it!" Andrew said accelerating

I looked behind us to cover our blind spot. There were two Joes making a beeline towards us.

"We've got company, directly behind us!"

"Everyone hold on!" Andrew said shifting into reverse

_What's he doing?!_

The jeep flew into reverse and crashed into one of the Joes. IT didn't do a damn thing, the Joes was holding us in place as the other one was steadily approaching.

"Why the fuck did you do that!?" I yelled

"I thought it would knock him over!"

_Alex, watch out!_

The other Joe grabbed me and threw me out of the jeep. I scrambled to my feet and tried to fight it. I kicked its side but the only one who was hurt was me.

"Ow, damn it!"

The Joe pointed its gun at me but a loud shot came from the side. The Joe's eye shattered and it started to flail around aimlessly. Molly had taken the dead soldier's shotgun. She turned around and bashed the butt of the gun into the other Joes eye. She stuck the gun into the new opening and fired, the Joe crackled with electricity and fell over.

"Hell yeah, Molly!"

"Help me shoot." She said handing me a 9mm pistol

We continued driving to the east side of the camp I was looking in every conceivable direction looking for my parents.

_Hey, over there!_

I looked to my left and my parents were there but they were being chased by a Joe. Andrew drove as fast as he could, trying to ram it. The Joe saw us and opened fire. We all ducked down and heard the windshield shatter and glass fall onto us. The jeep came to a lurching stop when we hit it. The Joe was knocked onto its back. I got out of the jeep and emptied my gun's clip into the robot.

_Just keep shooting it to be safe._

"You guys okay?" I asked

"I think I have whiplash." Andrew said

"I'm good." Molly said

"Is that man alive?" Dad asked

"No, unfortunately he is very dead."

"Alex, what are doing with a gun?!" Mom shouted

"No more questions! Please get in the jeep!"

"Where are we going next?" Andrew asked

_Before anything else we need to make sure the doctor and the rest of them are okay. Then we get our suit and fight back._

There were too many of us to keep track, if I kept them with me I don't think I can keep all of them safe.

"I want you guys to get out of here."

"Alex, that is out of the question!" Mom said

"I'll be fine, I can fight these things."

"We are not leaving you here." Dad said

A large army truck pulled alongside us, General Mathis was in the passenger seat.

"We're evacuating to a safer location to radio for help. Get in the back, there's plenty of room." He said

"Take them, I need to stay." I said

"Alex, why can't you just let the military handle this?" Mom asked sounding desperate

"Mom, the military is kind of getting their asses kicked! No offense general."

"None taken."

"Alex, please."

"This is my fight! This is my responsibility! Mom, I'm gonna be fine." I said hugging her

"Mrs. Spencer we need to move." The General said

"Okay, I'll go."

"Mom, Dad, I love you both. I'm going to come back, I promise."

Mom and Dad got in the back of the truck and I turned to Molly and Andrew.

"Andrew, I love you like a brother, man. Molly, I've been so cold over the years and I'm sorry, I couldn't have gotten this far without you two."

Molly handed me her shotgun and some more clips from the dead soldier. They piled into the truck and drove off. I began my trek across the camp, hiding behind tents and crates.

_Do you even know how to use those things?_

"Not really, that's why I need to get my suit back. Do you know where Light is?"

_The suit was pretty banged up so he would most likely need a lot of scrap metal. Look for a tent surrounded with dismantled machines._

I stood on top of a truck that was turned on its side to get a better look. The camp was still being evacuated so there were a few soldiers still here. The Joes had dominated the camp, they were searching every tent. I noticed quite a few Joes were converging on a single tent. Dismantled cars had been arranged to make a barrier keeping the Joes at bay.

"That seems like a good place to start."

_It'll take more guns that we have to get rid of all of them._

"Hey, I've got an idea."

I hoped off the truck and searched a few of the dead bodies. I found three grenades on one of the soldiers.

"How do these work?"

_Just pull the pin and throw it. You can hold that handle to keep it from blowing up but you still have around three to five seconds._

I climbed back onto the truck and took out my pistol, I shot three times in the air.

"HEY! You're looking for me aren't you?! I'm over here!"

Most of the Joes left the barricade and ran at me, leaving four Joes behind. I jumped behind the truck and placed one of the grenades next to the gas tank.

"Alright, got to time this just right."

_Do it now!_

I yanked the pin and ran like hell. I wasn't stopping to hide behind anything just on the chance I wasn't far enough away. I heard the truck explode behind me. I dove onto the ground and covered my head. Hot wind brushed over me but that was the extent of it. I got up and sure enough the Joes were blown away. All that remained were the three at the tent

I ran at the Joes, my gun drawn. I opened fire on the one in the middle but no damage was done. The three of them turned and shot at me. I rolled out of the way and chucked my second grenade at them. They were smart enough to fun away but the explosion caught one of them, blowing their legs off. I emptied the rest of my clip at them but I mostly missed.

"Why is it I can aim better with an energy cannon than an actual gun, this is bullshit!"

_Will you please focus on the robots shooting at us!?_

I bolted to the car barrier and climbed over it. I fell to the other side with a thud.

"Dr. Light? Roll? You guys in there?"

"Alex, is that you?" Garret asked coming out of the tent "I was hoping that explosion was you. Quick, get in! Get in!"

Much to my relief everyone was here and safe. Dr. Light has still hunched over my suit welding like a madman. My suit looked like shit, it was still mostly blue but it had green metal patching up holes. Protoman's red suit was used to replace the left side of the torso. The buster was repaired but there was a large cord sticking out of the left arm leading to a mesh backpack on the floor. My helmet was in better condition but my visor hadn't been repaired, I doubt it could to begin with.

"Is it operational at all?" I asked

"Yes, but the welding isn't done. It won't take too long though." Roll said

"Okay, what's our plan here?"

"Light's been skimping on those details unfortunately." Blues said

"We don't have a plan?! Wily's robots are storming the city and we don't have an attack plan?!"

"We've haven't had any time for that, we've been repairing this thing. You could think of something, Patton." Blues said

"That won't be necessary," Dr. Light said lifting up his welding mask "I know how we can get aboard. A ship like that is meant to stay in the air for long periods of time. It has maintenance hatches all along the outside for easy access. You can enter through there."

"Okay but what about when I'm inside?"

"That's the part we need to work on." Garret said "Light and Blues are in no condition to do any sort of fighting, the hatches are too small for someone of my size and Roll isn't exactly built for combat."

_Great, so we're supposed to go in there with a busted ass suit, no backup, in a giant mobile fortress thousands of feet in the air with dozens of robots and cyborg old people. That is fan-fucking-tastic!_

"Damn it, I can't do this alone."

"Hello, is anyone in there?" Someone called outside the tent

Two soldiers walked in, they were both in their early thirties but one of them was Korean. They looked a little beat up but no worse than I did.

"Oh good, I am Private Gerald Nichols."

"And I'm Private Lee Pak."

The rest of us in the room exchanged looks and a smile formed on my face.

_Are you thinking what I'm thinking?_

"Gentlemen, how would you like to serve your country?" I asked

They agreed to help us with little trouble. We got some extra ammo for their guns, I handed my guns over to them, we got them a few more grenades and sat down to plan entering Wily's castle.

"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do from down here aside from keeping radio contact." Light said "Once you four are in Wily's ship you're on your own."

"Damn, oh well, what's the safest maintenance hatch to get to?" I asked

"None are particularly safe, your jets have enough fuel to get you up there but not enough to make a round trip so you'll have to carry both Gerald and Lee with you. The extra weight will require more fuel to compensate so try to enter from no higher than the middle of one of the gun towers."

"If there isn't enough fuel then how are we gonna get back?" Gerald asked

"That's where Rock comes in, he'll be sent into Wily's control computer and will land the fortress safely."

"Who the hell is Rock?" Lee asked

"Yeah, we don't know you two well enough to get into that." I said

"Fine, what exactly is the plan for us?"

"You two are going in mainly as help. Help Alex with the Joes only. Wily is too strong for you two."

"Isn't he like seventy?"

"He's also a cyborg." I said

"What kind of shit are we getting ourselves into?!"

"Do we have any idea how we're going to deal with Bass and Wily?"

"Unfortunately, no."

_I've got your back, we'll think of something._

"Not exactly a vote of confidence but I guess you're right."

"That's all we can plan for, let's get into action. We'll have to stay here until it's over."

"Alright then, let's get started."

I suited up and it felt so weird. It felt a little lopsided and the left side of the suit felt lighter. The buster was repaired but it now had a bulky cord that led into a battery held by a backpack. My face guard was dented but still operational but my visor was broken and had to be taken off.

"This doesn't seem ideal."

_We'll just be extra careful._

"Are you sure you can carry us both?"

"If I can pick up a car I think you guys won't be a problem."

I injected a steroid shot and grabbed the both of them around their waists. They held onto my neck.

"Hold on tight!" I said and then lifted off

Gerald yelled out of fear and held on harder. He was choking me.

"Ease up!" I said

"Sorry."

My jets were going as fast as they would allow. Wily's castle was relatively close to the army base so the flight was straight up.

_Fuel is at 75%_

"Nothing but smooth sailing." I thought

I really need to keep my big mouth shut. A few compartments on the side of the gun towers opened up and four giant machine guns pointed right at me. They opened fire.

"Oh shit!" All four of us said

I did a barrel roll in the air to avoid some of the fire but my foot was clipped. The bullet didn't go through but it still hurt. I was weaving back and forth dodging the guns.

"Can't these jets go any faster?!" I shouted

_Hold on let me rework a few things._

"Oh shit we're gonna die!" Lee yelled

_Hold on to your ass!_

My jets went into overdrive. The flames grew larger and I felt them heat up my feet as I was propelled forward. I made it up to Wily's castle and flew up the nearest gun tower. I slowed down a little, there was no way Wily was going to risk shooting me while I'm so close to the ship. I saw a maintenance hatch halfway up like Doctor Light said. There was even a walkway near it. I set the two soldiers down and landed on the walkway.

"That was the worst flight I've ever been on!" Gerald shouted

"Hey, we made it didn't we?" I said

_He should just be glad the TSA didn't have to touch his balls for that flight._

"So boys, what's our plan here?" Lee asked

"Uhhh…hold on let me talk to my consultant." I said "What do you think?"

_I'm a little stumped myself._

"Who the hell is this guy talking to?" Lee asked

"I told you he was certifiable." Gerald said

_This is pissing me off, I can't think of anything! These two aren't going to be too useful against Bass or Wily. I guess they could keep the Joes inside at bay while we take care of them._

"I guess but it sucks that that's the best we can come up with. Wily is going to have back up in here so you fight the Joes, okay? Let's go."

The hatch was a tight fit. We had to crawl through in a tight space before it opened up a little. We got out and found ourselves in a room full of ammo and spare guns for up top.

"Okay, let's get you to the main computer. Any idea where it's at?" I asked

_No need, there is a terminal at the entrance there. I can make my way to the main computer through Wily's network. This way I'll know the ins and out of the place and I can keep in contact with you._

"Great, that's just the break we need." I said

I felt Rock's presence leave me. It felt a little lonely in here without him.

"Rock, did you make it there okay?"

_Yep, it took a little digging but I have access to his maps and control of each of the rooms. In case any of you get injured there's a med bay here._

"Med bay? Crap, that means Wily is most likely healed from our last fight…wait, I have an idea!"

_I know exactly what you're getting at. IF we damage Wily enough he'll have to go into surgery and heal. I can take control and botch it._

"Good, we have an actual plan now. So, where is Wily?"

_The security cameras aren't in very good condition s I can barely tell where anyone is except for you. Wily definitely knows we're here so he might be in the main computer room with me but there are no cameras here. Let's search for Wily, exit the armory and make a left at the first hallway._

All the hallways looked the same, no major differences here. Gerald and Lee followed close behind their assault rifles drawn. Gerald peeked down the net hallway we needed to go down and the coast was clear.

"We'll go ahead at scout. Stay here." Lee said

I kept looking over my shoulder expecting something to sneak up on me. I should have been paying attention to my front.

"Hostile!" Lee shouted

I spun around to see Gerald and Lee being held by their necks by Bass. He threw them both back and as they got up he pressed a button on a nearby panel and sliding door closed behind him and me.

_Alex, what happened? Your hallway is locked down!_

"No. more. running." Bass said aiming his gun at me

"Wait, we don't have to do this!" I said

He waited for a moment before answering me.

"You're right, we don't have to, not like this." His gun disappeared

I felt uneasy.

"We're going to do this the right way." He said forming his blade

"Okay its obvious these some miscommunication here, that's fine but...SHIT!" I ducked as he lunged forward only just missing my head, his blade was stuck in the wall

"You asked for it!" I said

I gave him two quick jabs to the stomach, he barely responded. He did a spinning roundhouse kick but I ducked down. As I ducked down I did a spin kick at his legs. He didn't have the time to block so he fell to the floor. I jumped into the air and put all my weight into my elbow and sent it crashing down on his stomach.

He pushed me off sending me into a wall. He got up and grabbed my neck slamming the back of my head repeatedly into the wall then he threw me upwards making me hit the ceiling. He tried to stomp the back of my head but I rolled out of the way. He brought his blade down but I activated Cut Arsenal and made my own sword to block. I pushed him back and scrambled to my feet. I blocked the first few slashed but he kicked my stomach.

I desperately swung my sword to keep him away but he knocked it out of my hands. He made a stabbing motion but I grabbed his sword hand ad redirected his attack into the wall. I gave him a haymaker to the side of his helmet. He stumbled back and fell down. I stabbed down at him but he rolled to the side. He sent both of his legs into my stomach, I was lift off the ground and hit the ceiling again. He stabbed down at me but I kicked his hand away and got back up.

I swung like a madman but he blocked like it was nothing. We both swung hard and tried to push the other back. The two of us were face to face.

"Just walk away!" I said straining

He back handed me with his fist, making my head hit the wall again. He put his foot on my neck.

"How dare you tell me that!" He yelled "We're settling this now, only one of us going to leave this place alive!"

I used a free hand to hit the back of his knee making him stumble. I got up and wrapped my arm around his neck. He pulled at my arms but to no avail.

"I don't want to hurt you!" I yelled

"Then you're weak!"

He punched me in the groin, I yelled out and he threw me to the ground. He sat on me and went to town on my face. I went fuzzy after the first hit and could hardly feel the others. I grabbed his sides and threw him up, this time he hit the ceiling. I rolled away from him and got back on my feet. He was more graceful with his landing and was already ready to fight more.

He gave me a quick punch to the jaw. I kicked his right side then did a spin kick to the left side of his head. He moved back and slashed with his sword. I ducked to avoid the slash and then tackled him. He grabbed my head but couldn't hold on. I slipped out of my helmet to get away and kicked him square in the face. When he fell down his helmet came off as well.

"You've gotten better ever since our first fight." He said

I kept my hands up in case he was trying anything funny.

"Thanks, I guess. Listen, I want to help you. We don't have to fight."

"Why do you keep saying that?!" He yelled

He threw three punches at me. I dodged the first two but block the other then I pushed him back.

"Because I promised someone I would try to help you!"

I grabbed his next punch and twisted his arm. I grabbed the back of his head and sent his face into the metal wall. I heard a crunch as his nose broke. I continued to hit the wall over and over again even as blood started smearing on the wall. I threw him into the wall one last time and then tossed him on the floor. His nose was pouring blood, as was his mouth. He thrust his blade toward my leg. It pierced through my armor but only grazed my leg, cutting it.

He hauled out on my face punching me as fast and hard as he could. Each punch drove me back until I was against the wall. I activated Guts Arm and punched him in the stomach, he was sent flying into the door. He took out his gun and shot at me.

"What the hell happened to 'doing this right?'" I asked

He shot at me again; I blocked the bullet with my armor.

"No more games!" I shouted

I shot my own buster clipping his shoulder. Then I activated Ice Bean and froze his gun. He took out his blade but I blocked with my katana, activated Guts Arm and punched his jaw.

"Elec Beam!"

A bolt of Lightning shot out and crackled through Bass' body. I used Guts arm again and brought it down on his shoulder, I heard it break by the loud snapping noise. He swung with his good arm but I grabbed it and twisted it, I punched him all over his head and torso. It went on for a full minute as I went on a rampage on this man's body. His armor was breaking off and bones cracked with every loud punch.

"Hyper Bomb!"

A crowd of bomb appeared around Bass. I aimed my buster at the bombs.

"Fire Storm!"

I shot out the ball of fire and braced for impact. The bombs exploded as I covered my head. The explosion would have been deafening if my ears weren't covered. Flames surrounded the corridor we were in. I heard Bass scream in agony. The fire cleared a little bit to see a hole in the floor with Bass on the other side. The hole was deep and went down to a black abyss. The flames persisted on the floors but Bass was still standing with a few fires on his. His dreads had been singed, his skin burned, and his armor was red hot. As was mine. He just stood there breathing heavily and his arms slumped at his side. His good arm still had the blade and he raised it, pointing it at me.

"You…you son of a bitch!" He shouted "I'll…kill…you…"

He took one step towards me and the floor creaked and strained under us. We both looked down at the hole and looked at each other. We knew what was happening. The floor gave way and we fell yelling. IT was dark, I couldn't see a thing. I hit my head hard and blacked out.

_Alex…ALEX!_

My eyes blinked open at the sound of Rock's voice.

"Where…where am I?"

_You fell three stories, how bad are your injuries?_

"Believe it or not I'm fine. The suit is banged up though."

_Is Bass still there?_

I looked around and seeing him with his gun pointed at e would've been a better alternative. Bass was there alright but his body was limp. A long piece of metal had impaled him during the fall.

"Oh god."

I approached him carefully and when I got close his hand reached for me but backed away.

"Oh fuck, he's alive!"

He had a crazed look on his face as he desperately tried to grab me. Tears could be seen flowing down his face as his arm fell down. He let out a loud blood curdling scream that gargled a bit with the blood collecting in his mouth. Once he was done screaming he looked to me.

"I…I…I guess you win." He said

I was speechless.

"I should have known better. A man does crazy things when he's cornered. Please, help me."

"Help you?"

"I'm in so much pain…make it end, please."

My heart sank at his request.

"No…no, no, no, I can't."

"Please, oh, please help me. If you don't I'll bleed out slowly and the pain will just keep going."

"I'm not able to, I'm sorry."

"My gun. Use it on me, it's over there."

His gun was a few feet away from his body. Just lying there.

"If you have any mercy, you'll do it."

I walked over to the gun and picked it up. I pointed it at his forehead. My body was shaking and tears of my own were forming. I couldn't take a life. I just can't! I put my finger around the trigger and felt like I was going to vomit.

"Don't make me do this."

"Let me ask you something first. Who was it that you promised?"

"I…I promised your dad."

"My father? I forgot I even had a father. You and I were we…friends?"

"If things went a little differently…we could've been."

"Ah, one last thing. What is your name?"

"Alex, Alex Spencer."

"Well, it was good to meet you, Alex."

"You too…Michael."

**Bang…**


End file.
